Spooked
by Spruceton Spook
Summary: Weird noises, creepy occurrences, sleepless nights...just what is going on at the Ketchum residence? Ash and Co. are dying to find out, thus leading them on another misadventure that distracts them from training for the upcoming Pokémon League...
1. Part 1

**Spooked**

_by Spruceton Spook_

**Part 1**

Ash glanced sadly out the window, the warm, bright sunshine beckoning him outside. So inviting, so enticing…Ash needed to be out there. Out in the open, taking in the fresh air and the space, using the convenience of the beautiful day for his own pleasure and need. He couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.

He would have bounded out there in a second, Pokéballs in hand, Pikachu by his side. Misty and Brock romping behind him, heading out to the fields. A full day of battling Pokémon and much-needed training before him, the gorgeous, green mountains of Pallet Town surrounding them. Doing what he loved most, nothing standing in his way.

But, unfortunately, there _was_ something in his way. He turned to the obstacle, displaying his boyish, puppy-dog eyes and pulling his mouth into a small, sheepish grin.

"Please Mom?" he begged softly, trying to act and look as innocent as he possibly could. His brown eyes glistened with desire.

His mother's didn't, however. She stared down at him rigidly, her face changing not one bit for Ash's display of imploring begs. Slowly, she shook her head back and forth.

Ash's face fell. "Aw, c'mon!" he whined. "Can't I do it later?"

"No, Ash!" Delia answered firmly. "I told you ten times to clean that room of yours! And you're going to do it now!"

Ash groaned loudly. "But look at it out!" he complained in reply, pointing out the window. "It's the perfect day to battle! I _need_ to go out!"

Delia shook her head again, this time more forcefully. "You _need _to clean your room. And you're not going out until you do, either."

"But that's not fair!" he cried, his voice becoming more high pitched.

Delia shrugged, turning her back to him in plans of returning to the kitchen. She didn't like doing this to Ash, but she couldn't even look in the room anymore because it irritated her too much. And she knew that once he started with his battling, she'd lose him for the day, and the mess would continue to rot away.

"Well, you should have thought about that before," she calmly but bluntly replied, making her way slowly into the kitchen. "Hop to it."

Ash was getting angrier by the minute. At first he thought he could convince her to let him go out for a while, and clean the disaster he called his room later. But he was mad at himself a little, too. Day after day, he watched his room get messier and messier, and putting it off was not the wise choice. There were plenty of opportunities to do it, but just like him, he put it off. Now, as the Pokémon League drew closer and closer, he needed all the training he could possibly get in. And this wasn't helping.

With her back turned to him, Ash stuck his tongue out at her. He was standing at the base of the stairs, where his mother had abruptly halted him moments before, when he had plans of bolting out into the sunshine. He wanted to smile at his silly, childish action, but he kept the straight face to build up his determination to defeat her.

Of course, at the most convenient moment, Misty made her appearance from the kitchen, where she and Brock were finishing their lunch and pulling out ingredients to make cookies. Her mouth fell as she saw Ash's tongue flop rudely and secretly out of his mouth, and she grinned.

"Mrs. Ketchum, Ash just stuck his tongue out at you!" she squealed, pointing at the shocked boy who immediately shot his friend an evil glare.

"Misty!" he growled at her, then smiled innocently and embarrassingly as Delia turned slowly to him, highly more annoyed than mad.

She shook her head and sighed. Ash just giggled, scratching the back of his head.

"Ash, _please_," Delia begged silently. "Please, just clean your room. That's all I ask."

"I don't want to!" Ash pouted determinedly, balling his fists.

"Oh, shut up, Ash!" Misty yelled back at him, coming up beside Delia. "Just do it, and get it over with!"

Ash glared at her harshly. "You don't get it, either, Misty! The Pokémon League's in four weeks! Got that? Four weeks! I need to train, because if I don't, I'm going to lose _miserably_!"

Misty just gave him an absurd face. "Ash, why bother? You're gonna lose miserably, anyway. At least you'll have a clean room to come home to and mope in."

"What's _that _supposed to mean?" Ash spit angrily, coming up close to her to stare her deeply in the eye.

Misty smiled slyly. "Just what you think it means."

"Are you calling me a _loser_?!" Ash demanded, his blood rising.

"Okay, that's enough!" Delia shouted, grabbing Ash and pulling him away from Misty. The sudden argument had provoked her more, and she was becoming fed up. "Ash, upstairs now!"

"But _Mom_…" Ash moaned, dragging his feet reluctantly as Delia pushed him up the stairs. "I have to train for the Pokémon League! I'm just gonna do a half-assed job, anyway, so I can get out there faster!"

That outburst had earned him a hard shove up the stairs. "Ash, if you don't cut it out right now, you won't be _going_ to the Pokémon League!" Delia barked. "Understand me, mister?"

Ash's eyes rose in shock, and with a huff but not another word spoken, he stamped up the stairs. That was the clincher, and he begrudgingly admitted his defeat. He turned to his faithful Pikachu, who had been resting on the couch and silently watching the action, and called him upstairs. The Pokémon could sense Ash's displeasure, and he scampered up loyally to him.

Giving his mother and tattle-tailing friend one more piercing glare, Ash disappeared as he reached the upper landing.

Misty gave Delia a silly smile, shaking her head. Delia did the same, rolling her eyes.

"It never ends," she tiredly sighed, patting Misty's back.

Misty let out a little laugh. "Try traveling with his stubborn attitude."

Delia huffed in surprise. "Try raising him for ten years."

"You win."

* * *

Ash kicked the door of his room open, and it snapped back on its squeaky hinges. He put his hands on his hips as his eyes scanned the sloppy room before him, and although he was quite upset with not being able to win the argument, he had to silently admit to himself that his room _was_ a mess.

Most of the clutter consisted of books and Pokémon magazines, which Ash had torn apart his collection of the other day to find a single article. Thank God no dirty clothes were there, as they had been a couple days before, but Ash was relieved to find them gone one day when he, Misty, and Brock had returned from a day out. However, a new pile of clean clothes sat atop his desk, practically three days worth, waiting ever so patiently to be put away. The pile was even beginning to fall over, it seemed. His bed was unmade, which was really Misty's fault, but he didn't want to bother her about that. His and Brock's sleeping bags were kicked off into the corner of the room, totally opposite from being folded up neatly every morning as his mother had requested. Barely any of Ash's deep blue carpet could be seen, as it was coated with unknown slips of paper and lint, desperately needing to be vacuumed.

Ash still wanted to get out to battle. But he didn't want to make his mom mad, either. He immediately went to the pile of clean clothes, and grasped them in his arms. A couple pairs of socks fell off the top of the pile, and Pikachu jumped to get them.

"Thanks, buddy," smiled Ash, reaching down to get the clothes from Pikachu. He gave his Pokémon a vigorous back-rub, and then strolled over to his dresser to put the clothes away.

_Crash._ Ash's head immediately turned to the sound of the noise. His eyes narrowed in confusion as they found what had fallen, which happened to be a picture off his wall.

Pikachu's ears flickered as he stared at it, and then at Ash, who was still a little bewildered. He shrugged, put the clothes down, and bent down to pick up the picture.

"That's funny," he mumbled, dusting off the frame of the picture with his fingers. It was a bright, clear snapshot of him, Misty, and Brock in Celadon City, taken at a small park festival that they had attended. There was a photographer there taking pictures of the guests, and Ash had ordered one to send home to his mom. He smiled fondly at it as he held it in his hands, but still eyed it weirdly. "This thing never fell before."

"Pikachu," Pikachu agreed, hopping up to settle on Ash's shoulder to get a better look at the photo.

"Huh," Ash said, gently placing the picture back on the wall. He centered it for a moment, and satisfied with the way it looked, he returned to his pile of clothes.

Pikachu remained on his shoulder as he stuffed the clothing into the respectable drawers, neither of them uttering a word. They both listened to the comforting cheeping of the birds out the window, and the soft breeze blowing through the trees. Ash wanted to get out there as soon as possible, but he wasn't going to be good on his word of doing a "half-assed" job. He was going to clean his room, and clean it good.

_Crash!_ Ash spun around again quickly, his eyes settling immediately on the fallen picture on the floor. Pikachu clutched on desperately to Ash's shirt, unsettled from Ash's sudden twist. Ash eyed it strangely.

"What the hell?" he grumbled, reaching down for the picture. He stared at the wall, and brought his hand up to fiddle with the nail. It seemed to be pretty stable in the wall, so Ash turned the picture over to see if the latch was broken. It wasn't, either. He scowled to no one in particular, suddenly overcome with confusion.

"Why does this keep falling?" he asked Pikachu.

"Pika," he replied negatively.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

As Ash went to place the picture on the wall yet again, he was stopped suddenly by the sound of few solid knocks. They were very faint, but loud enough to catch Ash's attention. He froze immediately, his eyebrows rising in confusion. He stopped breathing for a moment and listened carefully, bringing the picture close to his heart.

He looked over at Pikachu, who looked as baffled as he did. "Didja hear that, Pikachu?" he asked, his face still holding a weird look.

"Pika pika," Pikachu answered, nodding. He hopped off Ash's shoulder.

Ash was about to shrug when the tapping came again. It was slower this time, but much louder. Right away, Ash searched for the source of the sound, for it was one that he had never heard before. There were many noises in his home that a visitor would find strange, but Ash knew each and every one of them: the silent hum of dishwasher, the water heater coming to life in the basement, the quiet trickling of moisture rushing through the radiators. They were all familiar to him, but this sound wasn't.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

"There it is again!" Ash whispered, this time almost certain that it was coming from behind the wall, the same wall the picture had been hanging on moments ago. The picture still remained in Ash's hands as he backed away slowly, his eyes darting all over the place. Mind-boggled, he tried desperately to figure out what it was.

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

"Chu!" Pikachu uttered, his yellow fur standing on end. Ash saw Pikachu getting nervous, and it made him nervous, as well.

"Oh, it's okay, Pikachu," Ash said, trying to comfort his friend. "I'm pretty sure it's nothing. Strange, though. That's a new noise to me."

Ash and Pikachu stood in silence for a few moments, waiting for the sound to happen again. Ash wanted to hear it; perhaps then could he be able to find out what it was. But nothing happened soon afterward, and Ash decided that it must have been the house creaking in some way.

Shrugging at the slight interruption in his cleaning, he let out a small giggle.

"Man, Pikachu," he said. "We sure do get distracted easily, don't we?"

Relieved that the peculiar sound had stopped, Pikachu grinned and responded in a happy "cha." Ash smiled to his Pokémon, eager to get back to cleaning. Placing the picture on top of his dresser, he leapt up the stairs to his bunk, and began to settle out the sheets and comforter on the bed.

Standing on the steps while working, Ash almost fell off when the tapping began again, this time louder and more distinct. It caught him off guard suddenly, and he staggered to regain his balance on the steps. His head had turned to the sound upon hearing it, finding himself once again glancing at the east wall of his room.

But something about the knocks this time startled Ash terribly. Instead of sounding out one at a time which a small pause in between, they seemed to forming into a more rhythmical pattern. That was it for Ash, and the bizarre sound was beginning to get on his nerves. He hopped off the steps and strolled past Pikachu, who seemed more upset than before, and stared roughly at the wall.

Ash didn't really know what he was doing, but as if he did it involuntarily, he knocked twice on the wall. Pikachu eyed his trainer oddly, wondering just what he was doing. The small yellow mouse was taken back, though, when Ash's two knocks were returned back to him.

Ash's heart took a leap as his taps were repeated, and almost in fear, he tapped three more times. And three more times the knocks echoed.

"What is going on here?" Ash uttered, his voice squeaky in mystification and fear.

Suddenly becoming daring, Ash knocked on the wall in his usual, rhythmic knock that he used when he knocked on any door, anywhere. His mom always knew it was him at the door because of that knock. Ash didn't know where he picked it up, but it had just come naturally to him as he pounded his fist lightly on the wall.

_What am I doing?_ Ash asked himself as he did it, but his question was soon answered as the exact knock came back at him, piercing through him like an arrow. But this was not just some trick, or even an echo. What could possibly be repeating his knocks from behind his wall?

Ash and Pikachu didn't want to find out. Struck with unbelievable fright, Ash gulped loudly and bolted out of the room. Pikachu took off in an instant behind him, watching in horror as Ash got out of that room as quickly as his legs allowed him.

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" he screeched as he dashed down the stairs, almost tripping down the last few of them in his panic furry.

He reached the landing and spun around on his heels, the only thing keeping him from falling to the ground being the tight grip he had on the banister. He made an immediate sprint for the kitchen, where he found his mom, Misty, and Brock. They all looked up from the cookie pans they were dropping huge hunks of chocolate chip cookie dough onto when Ash barged into the room, his eyes wide in fear.

"Ash, what's wrong?" Misty asked him, giving him an undoubtedly perplexed look.

The same looks appeared on Delia and Brock's faces, and Ash scanned each one of them. His mouth hung agape and he panted from his flight down the stairs. Pikachu caught up to him, and hopped onto his shoulder, a little shaken up.

"Upstairs…" he said, pointing up, his voice shaking. "Oh my God, there's something upstairs!"

"What?!" Brock exclaimed. "What's upstairs?"

Ash's eyes widened. "There're weird sounds upstairs! I heard them! Weird tapping and stuff."

"What?" Misty asked, dragging out the word in disbelief. Her mocking grin was stabbing into Ash.

"Ash, what are you talking about?" Delia asked him, giving him the same annoyed look that she had before. "What's this about?"

"I don't know!" Ash replied, rubbing his head nervously. "First, that picture of us in Celadon City, ya know the one, right? It fell off my wall, and when I put it back, it fell off again! And then there was this weird tapping from behind the wall, and at first I thought it was nothing, but when I started tapping back at it, it just repeated, and…and…"

He trailed off as he witnessed all three of their faces lift into spirited, derisive grins. Even Misty raised a hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle, joining Brock and Delia as they shook their heads pathetically at Ash. Ash's face fell in disbelief and disappointment as he watched the three humored people before him.

"What, you don't believe me?" he asked inaudibly.

"I think you'll do anything to get out of cleaning your room," Delia replied.

Misty let out her laughter now, deafening Ash's ears. "Ash, you are so pathetic!" she cried.

"I think you're letting your imagination run a little too wild," Brock proclaimed, winking at his friend.

Ash growled at them. "I'm not making this up!" he insisted, his fear switching to anger.

"Pika pika! Chu!" Pikachu agreed, waving his little arms as he stuck up for Ash. Although they couldn't understand what he was saying, it was apparent in the way Pikachu looked that he, too, was trying to convince them of this certain "extraordinary" experience.

Misty chuckled. "How many Pokémon treats did you slip Pikachu to stick up for ya, Ash?"

"Ugh! I didn't give him anything!" Ash retorted. "Pikachu heard it, too!"

"Sure he did, Ash," replied Brock. "Sure he did."

Ash fumed. "You don't believe me? Huh? Come upstairs and see for yourselves!"

Ash backed up a little to begin his trip upstairs, but stopped when he realized that not one of them was making any motion to follow. He tilted his head and eyed them in an offended manner, ready to burst. The three just stared back at him, unwilling to believe what to them was an obvious fib to get out of the dreaded chore.

"Come on!" Ash insisted, waving his hand to draw them closer. "I'm serious! I'm not kidding around. There is definitely something up there!"

"Pikachu!" encouraged Pikachu, also. He hopped off of Ash's shoulder and sprang to the staircase, his ears twitching excitedly.

Misty, Brock, and Delia still stood there. Misty was smirking at Ash, and his eyes set on her angrily. Delia shrugged and scooped some more cookie dough out of the bowl, and set it on the sheet. Brock was just looking from Misty to Ash's face, snickering silently at their flaming glowers.

"I'm not lying!" mumbled Ash, still glaring spitefully at Misty.

Finally, Brock shook his head, his mouth curving into a half-grin. He walked over to Ash and gave him a small push, catching the boy a little by surprise. Winking at him again, he turned to Misty.

"Come on, Misty," he said, making her eyes rise in confusion. "Let's go see what going on."

Ash was shocked, but beamed. "Thanks, Brock!"

"Ugh, this is _ridiculous_," Misty said, rolling her eyes. But still she came as Brock beckoned her with his finger.

"Can you keep an eye on Togepi for me?" Misty asked Delia, looking down at the Pokémon who was licking one of the spoons happily.

"No problem," Delia graciously replied. "Ash needs you right now," she followed in a whisper. Lowering her eyes jokingly, she pointed to Ash with a flicker of her eye, making a coo-coo sign around her head. Misty giggled silently, and followed Ash and Brock up the stairs.

The three entered Ash's room moments later. Ash immediately went for the photo that he had placed on his dresser.

"Ooooh, scary," Misty taunted as soon as she entered, waving her arms around her head. "I can feel presences! Oh, no!"

Ash frowned at her. "Har har, Misty."

Brock chuckled, and grabbed the picture out of Ash's hands. "So, what's the deal with this, you said? It floated or something?"

"No!" Ash shot back, yanking it out of his hand. "It keeps falling off the wall, I told you! Twice it happened while I was up here."

"Doing nothing, I notice," said Misty rather perky, scanning her eyes around the still messy room. "Nice cleaning job."

Ash grumbled, but ignored her comment otherwise. He strode over to the wall and placed the picture on the nail, then stepped back slowly. For a silent moment, the three stared at the picture, Ash eyeing it determinedly.

"Is it supposed to do something, Ash?" Brock asked after a good couple of minutes.

Feeling a little foolish and slightly disappointed, Ash took a deep breath. "I don't understand. It wouldn't stay on the wall fifteen minutes ago!"

Misty sighed. "Oh, in your crazy little world, it wouldn't."

"Why won't you believe me, Misty?" Ash snarled, turning away from the wall and facing her.

"Because it's crazy!" she replied, staring him down. "You're just so stubborn! Why can't you just clean your room like your mom wants? Why do you have to be a problem?"

"I am _not_ a problem!" Ash responded coldly. "I'm scared, Misty! I heard knocking behind the wall!"

Misty gave him a face. "What knocking? I don't hear any knocking!"

"Well, it was here before!"

"Oh, just like the picture falling, too, huh?"

"Yeah!"

"You just want to trick your mom so you can get out of cleaning your pigsty!" Misty accused, baring her teeth at Ash.

Ash looked at her, appalled. Why was she accusing him of this? Although he wanted them to trust him, even he couldn't shake the feeling that his story sounded somewhat absurd.

"Now _that's_ a lie!" screamed Ash, almost bringing Brock's hands to his ears.

Brock came between them, restraining them each with his arms. "Okay, okay, guys. Calm down, calm down."

Ash and Misty were silenced. Misty turned with a huff from Ash while he turned to the wall. Ash stared annoyingly at the photo on the wall, wondering why it chose that moment to stay up. All he needed was it to fall again, but most of all what he needed was the tapping. Where was it now that he needed it? Its sudden disappearance was making Ash look like a fool, and he was feeling every bit of it.

Finally, Misty and Brock couldn't stand to wait anymore. The delicious aroma of the cookies floated up the stairs, and even Ash was sniffing in the smell, making his mouth water.

"Okay, this is stupid now," Misty said, leaving the room. "Ash, I…oh, never mind." She waved him away.

Brock and Misty leapt down the stairs, leaving Ash and Pikachu in the wake of his calm room. Ash wanted to go down for cookies, too, but he knew it was no use. Delia was probably not going to let him have any anyway after such a charade. But that proved to be wrong when he became fed up with being in his deceiving room, and joined his friends and mom in a delightful afternoon snack.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Hey everyone! Taking a step back into time with this one. What got me thinking was, if Ash, Misty, and Brock were in Pallet Town for two months before the Pokémon League, there had to be more going on than just those few episodes they had. This is just a little thing that happened smack in between the trio's little adventures and Ash's training. I'm writing a little more horror now, and getting excited! Hope you like it so far! Please review!


	2. Part 2

**Spooked**

_by Spruceton Spook_

Part 2

The hot, gooey chocolate chip cookies seemed to put everyone in a better mood, especially Ash. Although the incident in his room was still present in his mind, he decided to forget about it for a moment to enjoy the snack. He sat across from Misty, and in between the small conversations that took place at the table, Ash found himself giving her nonsensical faces. Misty simply returned them, laughing a couple times at their silliness.

After the snack was devoured, Delia collected the plates and glasses with Brock's help, and dumped them near the sink. It was obvious that Delia was rushing around, due to the fact that she needed to be at work in fifteen minutes.

"I'll take care of these, Mrs. Ketchum," Brock said with a smile. "Go get ready."

Delia looked relieved. "Thank you, honey, thank you. I have no idea where the time went."

Brock shrugged. "Think nothing of it." He turned to Ash and flashed him a sly grin. "At least _someone _will be doing some work around here."

"No, you won't be the only one doing work," Delia corrected him, her attention flipping directly to Ash. Ash narrowed his eyes at his mom, which had no effect whatsoever.

"I haven't forgotten about your room, Ash," she said, making her son roll his eyes. "I'm not buying that little 'ghostie' thing of yours."

"But a perfectly good day will be put to waste!" argued Ash, saying it ever so softly to make it sound ridiculous to be doing anything else.

Delia sighed calmly, giving Ash a small, gentle smile. "Ash, I'm not confining you in the house. As soon as you're done, you can go out and battle to your heart's content. Okay?"

Ash was ready to shoot back another disagreeing reply, but Delia's soft face made him suddenly reconsider. He couldn't say no to her when she looked at him that way, bringing the corner of her mouth into a friendly, almost kittenish grin, her eyes melting into his own. With a strong sigh, he looked down at the shiny kitchen floor.

"Okay," he silently replied, unable to hold his own smile back.

Delia beamed now. "Good boy." She looked up at the clock and groaned, looking a little shocked. "Oh, I have to go. I'll see you kids later, okay?"

"Bye," Misty said, juggling Togepi in her arms.

"Bye," she replied, grabbing her bag and keys. Heading to the door, she stooped down to give her son a kiss good-bye, which Ash scowled at but deep-down gladly accepted.

She placed her hand on his head and ruffled his hair robustly. "I love you. Clean your room!" she told him one last time.

"I will, I will!" Ash replied annoyingly, swatting her hand away from his head playfully.

Delia stood up and snickered at him. "Okay, okay, I believe you. But Ash, I mean it, if I come home, and that room's not clean, I'm gonna—"

"Oh my God! I'll clean it! I'll clean it!" he interrupted quickly. "Mom, you can relax. You need to go to work."

"All right," she answered, finally, to Ash's relief, making her way to the front door.

As she left the house, the three kids could hear her call out one last time, making Misty and Brock chuckle, and, on the contrary, making Ash fume. "Make sure he does it, guys!"

The door shut behind her, and Ash felt like jumping up and celebrating. He found his mom particularly grumpy lately, and unfortunately he was getting the brunt of her disposition. He was perfectly willing to clean his room, but a much more convenient time would have given him more enthusiasm. He turned to Misty and Brock, who were smiling back at him.

"Don't worry, Ash," said Misty, plopping down at the table. "We'll find something to do while you clean."

"Yeah, like help me, maybe?" Ash suggested coldly. "You guys have all your crap laying around, too."

Brock smirked. "Whatever, Ash. You just want us up there 'cause you're scared," he said.

"I am not scared!" roared Ash. "And just to prove that, I'm going up there right now to clean…_by myself_!"

With that, Ash spun around on his heels and marched up the stairs. Pikachu grinned at his two friends, and with an amused flick of his ears, bolted off to follow Ash.

Misty shook her head in comical disbelief. "I swear, I don't understand that kid sometimes."

"Oh, I do," Brock said matter-of-factly. Misty tilted her head, not comprehending. "When his pride's on the line, a little reverse psychology goes a _long way_," Brock concluded with a smile.

* * *

The next hour flew by quite rapidly. Ash had spent the whole time cleaning his room, a job he'd discovered wasn't so tough after all. Just time consuming. But as always, as soon as Ash got going with the cleaning, he couldn't stop. He hated unfinished jobs, and he became an unstoppable cleaning machine by the time he made his bed. Pikachu helped a little, but fell asleep on Ash's bed after about fifteen minutes.

No strange noises and events occurred while Ash was in his room, to his relief. He was concerned about it at first, and moved around his room silently in order to pick up faint sounds, if ones happened to be heard. Nothing happened though, and after a while, Ash forgot all about it, his mind focused solely on the task he sought to complete.

Ash didn't have much time to be proud of his accomplishment. Totally preoccupied with the cleaning, the outside world was an oblivion to him. He listened to the birds, if all. The anticipation of the upcoming Pokémon League took up most of Ash's thoughts. He imagined himself many times in the center of the stadium, the roaring crowds surrounding him, chanting his name. He smiled to himself, shaking a little at the anxiety that was wracking him. How he couldn't wait to get out and train!

Ash scanned his room happily, smiling pleasingly at his success. His room was utterly spotless, and he knew his mom would be proud. His pleasure was soon interrupted when he instinctively glanced out the window, and his face changed from delighted to surprised.

The sunlight poured through his window, but Ash was not focusing on that. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the dark, massive thunderclouds that were hovering dangerously in the distance, making their way in the direction of his house.

"Oh man!" he groaned loudly, so loudly that he awakened Pikachu. "Please tell me no!"

He didn't get the response he wanted. As soon as he had said it, the tumultuous rumbling of thunder resounded through the valley. In the distance by the clouds, Ash could see the bright flicker of lightning, and strong winds were beginning to beat at the side of the house.

Ash's fists clamped. "Dammit!" he belted out, stomping his foot.

"Pi?" Pikachu looked down at Ash, his eyes drooping sleepily. Ash looked up at him, his eyes narrowed in agitation.

"Come on, Pikachu," he said, opening the door forcefully and angrily. As the Pokémon hopped to the floor from the bed, he flinched as an even louder crack of thunder roared outside. Immediately, he knew that was trouble, and Ash was not going to take this lightly.

Ash pounded down the stairs soundly, met at the landing by none other than Misty and Brock.

"Can you believe this?!" he shouted, waving his hand at the patio doors, where the darkened sky could be seen clearly.

"Yeah, it was so nice before," Brock replied, shrugging. "That's a bummer, ain't it?"

Ash growled at Brock. "Oh course it is! How the hell am I supposed to train _now_?"

"Ash, calm down," Misty told him, gripping his shoulders. "It's okay."

Ash broke free of her hands. "No, it's not okay! It was so beautiful before! Why did it have to get like this out?" He sounded upset enough to cry.

"You can't control the weather, Ash," Brock said, giving him an even-tempered face. He walked over to the patio doors and glanced out at the disrupted atmosphere taking over the usually-quiet valley. "We'll go out and battle tomorrow. It really is no big deal."

Ash responded by stomping his foot again, making the glasses in the china cabinet rattle softly. Misty and Brock could feel the floor tremble under Ash's heavy foot, and they winced. He was seemingly on the verge of a temper tantrum.

"_Ugh!_ I'm going to _kill _my mother!" Ash pledged, folding his arms in front of him. An unmistakable look of animosity had invaded his face, and Misty quivered a little at it. When you got in the way of Ash and Pokémon, you were in for it.

"I swear, I'm gonna _rampage_ my room," Ash mumbled. "See how _she_ likes to be disappointed."

Misty groaned at his immaturity. "Ash, would you grow up?! Nothing can be done now."

Ash huffed, and just then, a torrential downpour finally blasted Pallet Town. The rain came down in buckets, and the sky lit up with a spectacular, electrifying lightning show. Thunder cracked and rumbled, making the ground quake lightly. The three spectators watched the storm from the patio windows, all in silence.

Ash shook his head as he observed the wind rip through the trees, totally disgusted with the way this day had turned out. He was so full of spirits hours ago, but they had been abruptly put to a halt yet again.

"Ya know," Brock said suddenly, breaking Ash out of his inner, unhappy shell. "This might just be a passing storm."

Ash's eyes lit up. "Seriously?"

Brock nodded, glancing at him sincerely for a moment, then turning back to the outdoors. "We might see sun again today. It's a possibility. Ya never know."

"That would be great," Misty smiled. Thunder crashed in the distance, and Togepi cried fearfully, shrinking himself back into his shell. Misty bounced the little Pokémon soothingly in hopes of calming him. "Togepi doesn't like this one bit."

Ash took a deep breath, and although he felt a bit better, a definite frown remained on his face. "I hope so," he whispered softly. With any luck, Brock was right.

* * *

Brock, despite being the eldest and wisest of the three, was not right. They had patiently watched the rain beat down on the ground for a good half-an-hour. The temperature had dropped a good couple of degrees, and evening was soon approaching. Ash was getting more upset by the minute…and closer to throwing a fit. The day had definitely gone to waste.

Since the rain showed no signs of stopping, and since there was nothing much else to do, Misty had suggested they play a game. Brock agreed immediately, becoming fed up with the boredom that had settled. Ash just remained at the window, looking out at the thunderstorm, Pikachu watching the lightning bolts from atop his shoulder with his ears pricked in fascination.

"Come on, Ash," Misty said, waving him over. "Let's play."

Brock and Misty were seated on the couch, and Brock was setting up the board in preparation for them to play Clue.

"No thanks," Ash replied, turning his attention back to the rain.

Misty frowned. "Ash, the storm's not gonna go away with you staring at it! C'mon, you can be Colonel Mustard this time!"

"I don't want to play!" Ash shouted back, shooting her an angry glare.

"Ash Ketchum turn down an opportunity to play Clue?" Brock asked incredulously. "Now _that's_ unheard of!"

Ash just shrugged off the comment. There went Brock again, trying to mess with his mind in hopes of dragging him into yet another meaningless game of Clue. The game he'd played millions of times in his life, and had practically won most of the time…except when he found himself playing against Misty and Brock.

His friends sat and stared at him, the board all set up, the cards all dealt out. Ash could feel their eyes on him, which made it even harder to resist joining them. But his stubborn determination had transgressed him once again, his mind trying to focus on ways he could seek revenge on his mother.

"C'mon," Brock cooed, smiling slyly at Ash, lowering his voice into a growl. "You know you wanna play."

Ash turned to them. "Don't you guys ever listen to a word I say?" They grinned at him. Ash bit his lip to keep from grinning, himself. "I told you I don't want to play!"

Misty and Brock unwaveringly kept their giddy, enticing expressions, and Ash bit down on his bottom lip even more. Finally, a defeated smile came to his face. He glanced out the window once more, watching the rain hammer the patio. With a sigh, he strolled reluctantly over to them.

"I'm Colonel Mustard," he announced.

* * *

"Ooookaaayy…" Ash said, rubbing his chin as he stared down at the board. Misty and Brock looked at him, annoyed beyond doubt.

"Ash, will you _please_ make your move?" Misty groaned agitatedly, wringing her hands.

Ash looked up at her distrustfully. "Misty, I'm concentrating."

"Can you concentrate a little faster?" she demanded. "So we can get to my move?"

"What, so you can win?" replied Ash knowingly. "Yeah, right." He looked back down at the board, and grasped the green piece in his hand. Brock grumbled.

"Hey, I was finally going to get into the library!" he moaned. "Why'd you do that for?"

Ash smiled. "Well, I wouldn't have done it if you weren't such a cold-blooded killer, _Mr. Green_!"

"Har har," Brock responded apathetically. "Make your damn move."

"Yeah, so you can get it wrong, and I can go," Misty added.

As they played their third game of Clue, the rain continued to plummet the earth as the storm raged on. A couple of times it had gotten very bad, the winds reaching dangerous speeds. Ash thought that a tree in their yard was destined to go down, but the wind had settled before it got a chance. Although the rain had stopped a few times, it had started up not long after. Getting into the game, Ash had seemed to completely forget about battling.

"I think it's Mr. Green, in the Hall—"

Ash was cut short as the lights in the house began to flicker sickly, then blowing out completely, leaving Ash, Misty, Brock, and their Pokémon in dark stillness. The sun had practically set, and the room was quite dim.

"Well, that's just great," Ash said unemotionally, throwing down the green peg onto the board.

"Not that this wasn't really unexpected," Brock commented.

Ash slumped back in the chair, rubbing his achy eyes. He sighed heavily. "So what do we do now?"

Misty rolled her eyes, but none of them could see that due to the darkness. "Duh, Ash. Don't you guys have any storm candles or something?"

Ash shrugged. "I dunno."

Brock slapped his knees in frustration, though he laughed. "Well, there you go."

"Ash, your mom's not gonna be home for another hour or two," Misty hissed at him. "Can't you at least _think_ of where they might be? I'm not sitting in darkness like a Zubat."

Ash was ready to tease her about that comment, but he wisely shushed himself, thinking it was not worth getting beat up over at the moment. He knew they had storm candles somewhere, but he didn't know where that somewhere _was_. Searching for them would be the intelligent choice, but he was too gloomy to even bother moving. Part of him, at that moment, just felt like curling up in the chair he was in and closing his eyes for a nap.

Finally, he breathed deeply and relaxingly, realizing his friends probably didn't have the same feelings. "Guess we can check the cellar. Mom keeps all that stuff down there. If not, then we can try the attic."

"Well, let's try the cellar first," Brock suggested, getting up and squeezing out of the tight space between the couch and the coffee table. Misty got up and followed him, her sleeping Togepi snoring lightly in her arms.

Ash got up along with them, nearly tripping over Pikachu in the process. Ash chuckled softly. "Watch it, Pikachu, buddy. Come on up here." He held his arm down for Pikachu to climb up. "I don't want to squash you."

"Pika!" agreed Pikachu, settling on Ash's shoulder.

The remaining sunlight guided their way to the basement door, which was located in a dark hallway of the house itself.

"It's gonna be even darker down there," Misty commented, as she heard Brock searching for the doorknob.

Ash pushed his way to the door. "Here, let me go first," he ordered, grabbing onto the knob instinctively. "The stairs are really steep and I don't want you guys breaking your necks."

Ash opened the cellar door. The three kids peered down the stairs, which were gradually swallowed up by the deep, ominous dark. Ash trembled a little and stood there for a moment, becoming slightly intimidated at the murkiness. Almost involuntarily, he flicked on the light switch to the stairs. Of course, nothing came on, causing his two friends to shake their heads and burst into laughter.

"Duh, genius!" Misty laughed, slapping Ash on the shoulder.

Ash chuckled himself, though he was slightly embarrassed. He had never gone down into his cellar before in the dark, so turning on the light was habitual. For closure, he switched the light off again and slowly made his way down the stairs.

"Don't let the boogie man get you, Ash!" Misty cooed from the landing. Brock giggled.

"That's _very _funny, Misty," Ash shot back softly, gripping tightly onto the banister and placing one foot carefully before the other down each step. Thunder continued to roar outside, and few times the lightning lit up the cellar. Still having a slight fear of the dark, Ash was a little afraid, especially with the memory of the spooky occurrence in his room earlier. But there was no way in hell he was going to let Misty know that.

_Just go down and get the candles_, he encouraged himself. _It's no big deal_.

"You're almost there!" Brock cheered from behind him.

"Hey, you guys are coming down, too, aren't you?" Ash turned back to them. His voice was a little shaky, but he controlled it quite well. He wanted them to come down, too, just to calm him a little. Even with Pikachu on his shoulder, he couldn't shake the fact that he despised dark basements.

Misty sneered. "Are you joking? It's creepy down there."

"Yeah, no kidding," Ash retorted, a little annoyed. He waved his hand at them, and turned to finish his descent. "Fine, stay there."

Ash started to go down again, but he froze when a sharp ring of a bell sounded out from the dim basement. He stopped breathing for a moment, not really knowing whether or not he had _really_ heard that. Slowly, he turned to Misty and Brock. They were dead silent.

"Did you guys just hear that?" Ash asked, the question coming out in a nervous squeak.

There was a thick, bone-chilling pause before Misty spoke up. "Yeah," she whispered.

"I heard it, too," Brock announced, his voice tight with surprise.

A chill seized Ash's spine, and his eyes widened fearfully. His fists balled and he could feel Pikachu digging his claws into his shoulder. Ash gulped, frozen in terror. "What was that?" he whispered, shaking.

Brock and Misty didn't reply and stood silently. All three of their eyes bugged out when brisk clicking noises began to sound, and Ash could feel himself nervously dragging his way up the stairs. The clicking concluded with the distinct ring of a loud, chiming bell, the same as they heard before. And then the clicking continued, this time more slowly and heavily emphasized.

Ash spun around and almost tripped as he scrambled up the stairs, a hot, sticky sweat breaking on his forehead. Misty and Brock jumped out of his way and he crashed through, immediately slamming the cellar door behind him. He was breathing heavily, as were Brock and Misty, as they listened in panic at the noise that rang out from the dead silence. Thunder and the pouring rain were the only other things that could be heard.

Ash gripped the door tightly as his heart raced. He could not be hearing this, he just couldn't. The clicking, then the ring. The clicking, then the ring. He shut his eyes in denial, his mind spinning.

He could hear Brock and Misty breathing heavily behind him, and could actually feeling Misty's hot breath on the back of his neck.

"Ash?" she squeaked in a terrorized whisper, swallowing hard. Ash clenched his eyes closed more tightly, her uneasiness making him shiver. "What…is that?"

As the bell sounded out quietly from behind the closed door, Ash bit down on his lip.

"A typewriter," he simply responded, his voice cracking.

Brock's heart raced. "A _typewriter_?" He could tell that's what it was, but the sudden fear sweeping through him made his head cloudy.

Ash nodded dreadfully. "My mom has my grandpa's old typewriter on a table downstairs," he explained, feeling the blood draining from his face. Misty and Brock tensed, as if they knew what Ash was about to say next.

"And someone's typing on it right now…"

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Still having fun? I hope so! Part 3 coming soon!


	3. Part 3

**Spooked**

_by Spruceton Spook_

Part 3

Ash could feel Misty digging harder into his shoulder. Despite the slight pain it created, Ash could hardly care less. He was too frightened to care. Each time the bell went off again, her grip became tighter. And each time, Ash's heart took another leap into his throat.

"_Asssshhhh_," Misty groaned fearfully. She sounded as if she was on the verge of tears, if she was not crying already. Her eyes were wide open and darting all over, though it didn't help much in the pitch black that surrounded them. She couldn't bear the thought of closing them right now, though—she wanted to see as much as she could.

Ash took a deep breath to become calmer. "It's okay, Misty," he whispered back to her. "I'm…I'm sure it's nothing."

The bell sounded again, followed soon after by more clicking of the keys. They got faster at some points, then slowed, sometimes stopping completely. But they would start up again, never giving the poor, scared kids a break.

"That doesn't sound like nothing to me, Ash," Brock said dreadfully. Ash could feel him brush up beside him, and his nearness comforted him.

Misty whined softly again. "Ash, why is your typewriter working downstairs?"

Ash shook his head, but he knew that did her no good, considering she could barely see him. "I don't know, Misty."

"Please tell me it's done that before," she begged quietly, her voice full of fear. "Please, Ash?"

Misty clutched Togepi closely to her. The Pokémon was now awake, but totally unaware of what was happening. He was breathing soothingly in Misty's arms, sometimes giving off little squeals in wonder of where the light was. Misty leaned her face into Togepi's soft spikes and nuzzled his head.

"Misty, I hate to tell you, but it's never done that before." Ash made another sharp intake of breath as the end-bell went off again. "And I don't think I want to know why it's doing it now, either."

"Pikaaa…" Pikachu whimpered softly, holding on protectively to Ash's head. He didn't like the unfamiliar sound one bit. Especially since he had explored the basement countless times, and among all the strange sounds that had come from there, not once did he hear this one.

"It's okay, Pikachu," Ash said, reaching up to stroke his ears. Despite how greatly he was scared, he couldn't help but be glad that this was going to confirm what he had experienced today. It was almost as familiar to him as it was strange.

"You guys believe me _now_?" he asked, growling in whisper. "See what I'm talking about? I wasn't lying!"

"Yeah, yeah, Ash, whatever!" Brock said quickly to quiet him down. "We got it, okay? This is no time for an attitude."

The typing was definitely slowing down now, making each click more forceful. Each time it happened, the three of them shuddered. Misty moaned loudly and switched her grip from Ash to Brock. Brock felt her weight on him suddenly, and he clutched her to comfort her, though he wished for once that _he_ had someone to turn to when he was scared.

"Brock, go down there," she begged off him, clutching a handful of his shirt tightly. He could feel her shaking incredibly now. She was scared. There was no doubt about that.

"Misty, I…"

"Please, somebody go down there," she moaned. "Please make it stop!"

The bell sounded off loudly again, causing the frightened girl to yelp. "Ash! Go down there! See what that is, please!"

Ash eyes widened in shock. "Yeah, right! Are you kidding? I'm not going down there!"

Misty was certainly not pleased with that. She yanked softly on Brock's shirt some more. "Then you go down, Brock. Please? I need to know what that is!"

Brock took a deep, nervous breath. He didn't want to go down there at all. If he was alone, he would have already bolted out of the house, storm or no storm. His heart was pounding like a hammer, and he wondered if Misty felt that.

Brock was not coming out with an answer quickly enough. He was concentrating too much on the typewriter downstairs. He hated being the oldest. Because somewhere down the line, he knew that both Ash and Misty were relying on him, whether they told him outright or not. If anyone was going to go down into that basement, it was going to be him.

Gulping softly, he rubbed her hand to encourage her to loosen her grip. "Ash? Where…where's the typewriter downstairs?" He tried not to let the nervousness slip through his voice.

Ash looked at him in shock. "You're going down there?! Brock, no! Who knows what that is?!"

Brock took a deep, sound breath. "Ash, we have to find out what it is. Misty's scared."

"So send Misty down! I'm scared, too!" Ash cried, his voice still lowered to fidgety whispers.

Misty released her hand from Brock and punched Ash harshly in the arm. "Are you insane?!" she screeched.

"_Owwww!_" Ash groaned through clenched teeth at the pain of Misty's punch. He rubbed his sore shoulder. "What the hell?!"

"I am _not_ going down there!" she hissed.

"Guys, _stop it_!" Brock ordered forcefully. His fear was starting to break through his voice, and both Ash and Misty caught this. "I'll go down, okay? Goddamn it, you two, stop acting like brats!"

There was no doubt now that Brock was scared. The whole last sentence came out in squeaks, despite how authoritative he tried to sound. He moved past Ash and Misty in the darkness, and a little reluctantly, gripped the slippery doorknob in his hands. He opened the door slightly, and as expected, the typing and ringing became more easily heard.

All three of the kids' breathing became heavier as Brock opened the door wider. The typing was showing no signs of stopping—in fact, it had sped up. No one was as scared as Brock. Even if he did get down there, how was he supposed to see what it was? He wasn't _going_ to see. He was going to have to shout. Shout at whatever it was to get the hell out. Their bodies all tensed up, as stiff as stone. Their hearts pumped vigorously in their chests. The world had seemed to stop at that moment. Rain and thunder pounded in the background. And slowly, but surely, Brock took the first step forward to enter the basement.

But as Brock placed his foot on the first step of the stairway, the front door of the house suddenly blasted open, hitting the adjacent wall so forcefully that the door swung back on its hinges. The wind from outside blew into the house in one huge gust, hitting the kids with a blast of cold and wetness. Thunder cracked, and all at once, the kids shrieked loudly. Ash flew back into Misty, who clasped onto him for dear life. She belted her scream directly into his ear, which just made him scream louder. Pikachu's cheeks sparked fearfully.

A new scream entered the chorus of preexisting screams. Emerging from a hurricane into a dark house full of terrified shrieks was enough to give _any_ intruder a heart attack, as it seemed to his particular one, whose heart was practically ripped from her chest.

Ash was the first to stop screaming when he heard the new scream, recognizing it right away. He immediately clasped his hand over Misty's, smothering the outcry back into her mouth.

"M-mom?! Mom, is that you?" Ash asked frantically, shaking but full of hope. His blood was rushing through his body like boiling rapids.

He peered into the entranceway of his house, and as the lightning lit up the outside world, he could distinguish the outline of his mom in the doorway, an open umbrella drooped at her side. She wasn't moving for a moment, which made Ash shiver.

"Mom?" he asked again, worriedly.

The person in the doorway moved, coming into the house and slamming the door shut behind her. Leaning against it, she breathed deeply to calm her beating heart. "Ash, you are going to be the death of me yet."

"I—I'm sorry," Ash apologized softly. Still, a thankful smile spread across his face now that his mom was home. "You…you scared us." He was whispering.

"Yeah, well, you scared me," she responded matter-of-factly. Her voice suddenly turned sharp. "Screaming like that! Don't ever do that again! You almost gave me a stroke."

Misty's eyes widened and glistened over in tears, though just like Ash, she was smiling in relief. "Mrs. Ketchum?" she asked, terror undoubtedly present in her voice. "Thank God you're home."

Brock came up from his very, very short descent into the basement. He undoubtedly felt the most relieved, and ran a trembling hand through his sweaty, brown hair.

Delia flipped the light switch beside the door, and groaned when she realized that the lights were out. "Great," she groaned despondently, throwing her bag on the couch and the soaking umbrella to the floor. "What, have you poor kids been in the dark this whole time? Ash, don't you know where the storm candles are?"

She was a little confused when she heard no response from the kids. Her face wrinkled. "Kids?"

"_Shhhh!_" they all answered her at the same time, causing the house to quiet for a split second.

"Huh?" she replied confusingly. "What is it?"

She tried to reach where she heard their voices, but it was hard to find them in the dark. "Ash, where are you?"

"Here," Ash replied in whisper, reaching out for her. As soon as she found him, she clutched his cold hand in her damp one.

"Come on," she said, dragging her son forward. "We have to go down and get the candles. What have you been doing this whole time?"

"No, you can't!" Brock suddenly squawked. As was Ash and Misty, he was whispering.

Delia stopped abruptly. She could feel Ash squeezing her hand tightly with a small, terror-filled grip. For a moment, she became dazed. "What? Why not?"

Brock paused, then spoke up very slowly and seriously. "There's something down there, Mrs. Ketchum."

The fear in his voice startled Delia. "_What?_ What are you talking about?" she asked worriedly, panic rising in her. "_There's someone in the basement?!_"

Ash could feel her moving around fretfully, tensing up at the sound of imposing danger. She grabbed onto Ash tightly, drawing him closely to her instinctively.

"No, Mom…"

"We don't know!" Misty cried silently. "But it's scary! It's the typewriter!"

"The typewriter?" Delia repeated, her eyebrows rising. She loosened her hold on Ash and calmed. "What's wrong with the typewriter?"

Thunder cracked over the house, making the four of them jump. Ash drew even closer to his mother, wrapping his arms around her waist. Delia just simply held onto him, wondering just what the three terrified kids were talking about. They were silent once again…all but Misty's light whimpering.

"Guys, what's going on?" she demanded.

Ash took a deep breath. "Mom, the typewriter was going off down there."

"_Huh?_"

"A couple minutes ago someone—or _something—_was typing on the typewriter downstairs," Brock explained. Even as it came out of his mouth, the whole thing sounded preposterous, and the reaction from Delia was not unexpected.

"What?!" she exclaimed, letting go of Ash completely. "Oh no, don't start this again!"

Misty raised her head. "We're not starting anything!" she calmly but fearfully protested. "Mrs. Ketchum, we're dead serious!"

"The typewriter _was _working downstairs," Brock backed her up, searching in the dark for Ash's mom. "Honest to God!"

Delia shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. It was basically soaked from the powerful winds that had circled her in her brief moments outdoors.

"Mom, we're not lying!" Ash insisted. He couldn't honestly grasp that with all that was just happening, she wasn't going to believe it for a single moment. "Why would we lie to you? We heard somebody on the typewriter downstairs! It went on and on for like…uh…"

"A good couple of minutes," Misty finished strongly. The seriousness in her voice was the only thing that was making Delia's standpoint sway. The fear in it, also, was more than convincing.

Delia sighed. "Kids, look around you!"

"Uh, we can't," said Ash simply.

"Exactly!" his mother responded, throwing her arms up in frustration. "You guys are scaring yourselves crazy here! Geez, I would have thought you were old enough to handle being in the dark for a few seconds!"

She didn't notice how Ash, Misty, and Brock's eyes widened like window shades snapping up. Was she insinuating that they were creating this in their minds? That it was just a figment of their imaginations? No, it couldn't be! They all looked at each other, only making out their silhouettes in the dim light. But at the same time, they all knew what the other's expression was.

"Are you kidding?" Ash exclaimed, highly irritated. "Listen, Mom!"

Delia rolled her eyes, but listened otherwise. Ash, Misty, and Brock braced themselves, waiting for the sound to start up again.

But nothing happened. Aside from the low rumble of thunder and the rain, silence ensued. Of course, if the whole scheme of things, they had failed to realized that the mysterious sounds had ceased. This came as a shock to them at first, and in an instant, they became slightly confused. All they needed was another ring of the bell, another tapping of the keys.

It was the most inconvenient time, naturally. Ash got a low pain in the pit of his stomach, it being the same pain he had gotten when he had taken Misty and Brock up to his room to hear the tapping from being his wall. The realization that, once again, he was going to look like the fool. Why was this happening all over again?

"What happened to it?" Misty finally spoke up. "Why isn't it happening now?"

Ash and Brock stood agape, completely blown out of the water. Nervously, they turned to Delia.

"Okay guys, you had your fun," she cooed, her warm, compassionate smile hidden in the darkness. "Time to get some light in this house."

She moved past the three kids again and opened the door to the basement rather quickly. She could hear them gasp in fear as she did this, and she froze.

"You were hearing the wind," she simply told them, jiggling the doorknob with her hand.

"It didn't sound like the wind," Misty replied anxiously.

"Definitely wasn't the wind!" Ash agreed, his voice shaking a bit.

"Pika pika!"

"You know, this sounds _oddly _similar to another event we had today," Delia said, sounding a little fed up.

Ash became saddened. "You still don't believe me about that?" he asked silently and dispiritedly.

"I'm not buying any of it," she replied, "because it's ridiculous. I don't know what you kids think is going on, but there's nothing strange in this house. If there was, I'd be the _first_ to know, believe me."

"But you haven't been here when we heard the noises!" Ash shouted. "I swear, there's something mysterious going on here!"

"And it's in the basement!" Misty squealed nervously.

"There's nothing going on!" Delia insisted again. "And I'm gonna show you myself!"

With that, she walked rapidly down a few of the basement steps. Ash, Misty, and Brock could hear her knocking against the wall, though they didn't know what she was doing. They soon found out, however, when a bright light suddenly blinded them. Shielding their eyes, they found Ash's mom shining a rather large flashlight in their faces. Delia turned it away from them and up towards her, the eerie glow bringing out every curve of her face.

"Boo!" she smiled, sticking her tongue out at them. Ash, Misty, and Brock were not entirely amused.

"Where'd that come from?" Ash asked annoyingly. "That was never there before!"

"I put it here for instances such as this," his mom replied, the light still shining up in her face. She was giving him a sly, proud smile. "Now you know."

"Yeah, thanks a lot," Ash responded, crossing his arms in front of him.

Delia smiled widely. "Come on," she beckoned them down.

A little reluctantly, Ash, Misty, and Brock followed her. Their eyes darted around them nervously, and their sweaty palms clutched the banister tightly. They could only see what the flashlight allowed them, which was not enough.

When they reached the landing, Delia immediately threw the light in the direction of the typewriter. The kids' eyes turned in that direction hesitantly, afraid of what they might see. Ash was holding his breath to the point where it was painful, but as soon as the strong light found the typewriter, he exhaled loudly.

There was nothing there. Only the typewriter, dust-covered and forlorn. It sat silently on the old desk it had been placed on years before, untouched. Alone.

Ash, Misty, and Brock's eyes were fixated on the typewriter. It looked so deserted, like it hadn't been touched in years. Their mouths were wide open, their expressions, dazed.

"Goodness, that thing won't let up!" Delia said sarcastically, waving the light around in circles. She looked down at them with a gentle grin. She nudged Ash. "See? _Nothing_."

"But…" Ash started, pointing at the typewriter, bewildered.

"No more scary movies for you, kiddo," Delia said before he could finish, ruffling her son's hair. "You guys are freaking each other out here."

The three kids were silenced. They couldn't believe it. As they stared at the tranquil typewriter, even they were beginning to doubt it. But they _had_ all heard it, that was for certain. And there weren't many sounds that could compare to that of a typewriter's. It just didn't make sense all around.

Delia stood and watched them stare at the typewriter. She couldn't believe how shocked they looked. She smiled casually, though for the moment she wondered if this could very well be another one of their friendly pranks. If it was, she certainly wouldn't be too happy about it. Delia had already had an incredibly hectic day as it was, and their little stunt wouldn't help the situation one bit.

"Are we done here? Or do I have to call the Ghostbusters?" she laughed.

They didn't reply, but looked at her with downcast frowns. She smirked playfully at them. If they were faking, they were doing a pretty good job at it. The typewriter using itself. How ridiculous!

"Come on, let's get the storm candles," she said softly, shining the light over to a cabinet near the base of the stairs. With one more curious glare, the three turned away from the typewriter to help take the candles out. As they ascended up the infamous staircase, they all exchanged distinguishable looks, each reading clearly: _What the hell is going on here?_

They helped Delia light most of the candles and deliver them to each of the rooms. It felt much better as the dark house was beginning to brighten. The fact that they could see each other now was comforting. The storm still rambled on outside, though the worst of it was evidently over. The winds had died down, but the rain was steady. Thunder cracked every now and then, but it wasn't even loud enough to upset Togepi.

* * *

The rest of the night, Ash, Misty, and Brock had to deal with the constant teasing from Delia. All throughout dinner and into the evening, she mimicked their terrified expressions, getting a good chuckle out of it. Somehow, they figured she was trying to get some sort of confession out of them, that they were playing out the whole thing for a laugh or two later. Or that it was Ash's pathetic attempt at getting back at her. Either way, they said nothing. They didn't even bother objecting to it. They knew what they heard.

Around eight o'clock, the electricity came back to life. They all sighed in relief as the wonderful luxury was returned, and they hopped through the house blowing out all the candles in celebration. Delia was relieved that the food in the refrigerator was now out of danger of spoiling, and Ash was happy that he wasn't going to miss the daily Pokémon Digest TV show.

Still, Ash felt utterly disorientated. Too many things happened that day that he could not comprehend, and it was eating at him. Though he knew what he had heard, he still couldn't bring himself to believe that the noises were caused by something out of the ordinary. It even sounded ludicrous to him. His house haunted? That was a joke. It was never before. Why would it be now?

Sleepiness crept up to them rather rapidly, and before the clock had even struck nine they were all ready for bed. Delia was relieved that the kids were already settled, finally be able to get the glorious quiet time she had craved all day. She curled up on the couch in front of the TV and got cozy underneath the huge throw blanket. Not a peep came from upstairs, and she sighed contentedly. What a long day it had been.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

This one's for MistyMermaid – hey you!

Want to read quite possibly the greatest story on Go read MistyMermaid's "Painful Secrets"! 10/10 on my scale! **Highly recommended!!!!!!!!!**

Sorry I didn't mention it in Part 2 . . . as for those of you who are anxiously hoping that some sort of romance will pop up in this, don't fret. What's a good story without hints? But you know me . . . you hafta search for them! Heehee. What kind of romance? That's up to you to decide . . . Hope you're liking the story. I appreciate all the wonderful reviews from my readers! You're the ones who keep me going!


	4. Part 4

**Spooked**

_by Spruceton Spook_

Part 4

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep," Misty said sadly as she lifted her head from her pillow for about the hundredth time. She reached over and snapped the light on beside the bed.

Ash and Brock groaned from below, and Misty looked over the side of the bed down at them. They had their hands clasped over their eyes, which shot like daggers at her when they finally uncovered them. She flinched a little at their hard stares, but her expression remained the same.

"Well, can you at least _try?_" Ash insisted, squinting at the bright light. "I'm tired here!"

"Me too," Brock agreed. "Misty, you'd feel a lot better if you got some sleep."

"Believe me, I want to sleep!" said Misty compellingly. "But I can't get that ringing out of my ears! It's killing me!"

Brock rubbed his drowsy eyes and sat up. He looked up at Misty, whose attention was on him, and he smiled gently at her. She didn't smile back.

"Misty, what can we do to make you feel better?" he sighed sleepily.

"I dunno," she replied apathetically. "I guess there's nothing you can do, really. It's up to me to fall asleep."

Ash listened to her speak so downheartedly, and he kicked his legs out of his sleeping bag. The bag crumpled from the lack of support underneath it, all but a small lump near the end of it. Misty and Brock watched attentively and curiously as Ash shook the lump gently, causing it to stir.

Pikachu popped his head out from the warm bag, his eyes droopy from being woken up. Ash smiled into his buddy's face.

"Misty, would you like it if Pikachu slept with you tonight?" he asked gently. He felt like a million bucks when Misty's face lifted.

"Would he?" she asked hopefully.

Ash beamed. "Course he would! Would ya do that for Misty, Pikachu?"

"Pika pika," Pikachu replied affirmatively but sleepily. Ash chuckled, and picked up the tired Pokémon and placed him beside Misty.

"Thanks, Ash," Misty said, running her hand up and down Pikachu's ears. It wasn't a lot, but the presence of the Pokémon would bring her at least a little more comfort. Pikachu settled immediately into Misty's comforter, and nuzzled up beside her stomach. He was warm and soft, and with Togepi sleeping in her arms, Misty didn't feel alone.

"No problem," Ash replied, getting back into his sleeping bag. "Can we try to get some sleep now? I hear it's gonna be nice tomorrow and I have to make up for the training I missed today."

"Sure," Misty said, snuggling back into her sheets. She quieted herself after that, though she still felt uneasy about it. Along with being frightened, she felt disgusted as well. Here she was, surrounded by her friends and Pokémon, and Delia in the living room below, and she still felt scared. She just wished that sleep would overtake her, that in the next moment she would wake up, and it would be morning.

Misty turned the light off, and plopped her head down on the pillow. She heard Ash and Brock getting comfortable in their sleeping bags on the floor, and she took a deep breath to get settled. As her head sunk into the pillow, she replayed the events that had occurred that day. First Ash with cleaning his room, then the storm, then the basement. And with every new thought that popped into her brain of what she _might_ have heard, she tried to think of some sort of logical explanation for the whole thing.

She couldn't think of one, though. The typewriter had been working. She had heard it, Ash had heard it, Brock had heard it. Even Pikachu had heard it. How could it have been the wind or their imaginations? How could they have concocted such a ridiculous affair? And as Misty thought of this more and more, she couldn't help but think of Ash's situation, too. He had looked so scared and so serious when he had blurted out what he had heard in his room. As did his mother and Brock, Misty was certain he had made it up. It was just too convenient. But the situation in the basement had made her think differently.

Lifting her head slightly off the pillow, Misty sat still for a moment. The room was silent. She breathed softly, and looked down at the floor.

"Ash?" she asked delicately, her sweet voice drifting through the room.

At first there was no response, but then Ash spoke up. "What?" he asked back groggily.

"Um, what…what you were saying today," she said, "about your room? You, uh…you weren't making that up, were you?"

"No," Ash answered, his voice drained. And that was all.

Misty swallowed gently and threw her hair out of her face with a swift shake of her head. "I believe you now," she told him lightly, just above a whisper. She immediately braced herself for a sharp reply from him, but one never came.

"It's okay," mumbled Ash. Misty realized that the poor boy was falling asleep as he was talking to her.

"All right," Misty concluded, smiling. She ended the small conversation there and rested her head back on the pillow. She glanced up at the ceiling and watched the shadows dance across it. The window was open, allowing soft, warm breezes to blow into the room. The storm had ended, the electricity was back on, and the world was coming to a standstill. The night was growing deeper, and Misty's eyes slowly began to droop. In no time she fell into slumber, the last thing on her mind being the image of the Clue gameboard.

* * *

Misty was suddenly awake. She didn't know how she'd woken up, but she found her eyes staring at the window. It was still dark out. She blinked once hard, then sealed her eyes shut tightly. Groaning sleepily, she shifted her weight on her right side and turned over. She focused on the clock beside the bed, discovering it was a little after four-thirty AM. A bit shocked, she couldn't believe how fast the night had gone. The sun would be rising soon, and she had made it through the night. She smiled contentedly to herself and shut her eyes. Lowering her body back onto the bed, she yanked the covers up to her chin and settled back into sleep.

_Tap._

Her eyes opened immediately at the sound. Confusingly, she turned her head in the direction from where she believed the sound had come from. It had only been a small, sharp knock, but it was quite loud. Staring sleepily at the wall behind Ash's dresser, she didn't know what she was looking for.

Too tired to support her head anymore, she let it drop back on the pillow. It was nothing. Figuring that it had been the house settling, Misty's eyes shut easily and she wrapped her arm around her slumbering Togepi. If Ash was going to get them up bright and early like she imagined, she wanted to get sleep now while she could.

_Tap. Tap. _

Misty's eyes flew open rapidly, immediately tensing.

_What is that?_ she thought as she hesitantly lifted herself on her one arm. She looked once again at the wall where she heard the noises coming from. That was _not_ the sound of the house settling. They had been two very obvious knocks. But from where?

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Misty's eyes opened even wider, this time fearfully. She had no idea where it came from, but at that instant she recalled what Ash had been telling them earlier. He had described knocking behind his wall. And that's exactly what she was hearing now.

Three harder, sound taps came from across the room, and Misty held her breath. _Oh man,_ she groaned to herself, gently lifting her legs out from under the covers. _It's the tapping Ash was talking about!_

Suddenly, panic took over her, and she felt her blood pump furiously. The tapping occurred again, and this was when Misty really got nervous. Without a second thought, and brimming with fear, she climbed down from Ash's bunk, fell to her knees on the floor, and crawled swiftly to Brock's sleeping bag. It was the closest, and she felt drawn there, anyhow.

"_Brock! Brock!_" she whispered strenuously, shaking her friend quite forcefully. "Brock, wake up!"

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

Misty froze for a moment, her attention drawn to the knocking again. Gulping loudly, she gave Brock a good hard shove. But he was like a rock, totally immersed in slumber. Brock was a deep-sleeper, and Misty was about to give up hope and go to Ash. But she was stopped before she even had the chance.

A loud crash disrupted the peaceful, soundless moment of the room, causing Misty to jump out of her skin. Unlike the tapping, this one was quite louder and sudden, and the startled girl let out a blaring yelp. In that instant, she instinctively grabbed hold of some sort of near protection, which happened to be Brock. Actually, it was more like a bone-crushing tackle. _This_ was enough to wake him.

"_Huh? What?_" Brock yelled loudly and fearfully in surprise to having been wrenched rudely from his sleep. He immediately panicked, the darkness of the room confusing and intimidating. All he felt was someone clutched tightly onto him, but he didn't realize that it was Misty at first.

Misty felt him squirming uncomfortably in her arms. "What's going on?" he shouted loudly in alarm, trying to break free of the unknown force.

"Brock! Brock!" Misty whimpered, still grasping her arms around the startled boy. "It's me! It's just me!"

"Misty?" he asked, gasping for breath from being awakened so suddenly. "Oh my God, what…what…"

"Oh my God, what's the matter?" Ash's voice suddenly joined the confused ensemble. He sounded almost as panicked as Brock was, and bolted up immediately to flip on the overhead light to the room.

Misty and Brock squinted unintentionally as the bright light attacked their sleepy eyes, and they winced painfully. Through his strained eyes, Ash looked down to see Brock sprawled in a disturbed fashion on the floor, Misty right on top of him, her body literally wrapped around him. She had both her hands full of big clumps of Brock's pajamas, clamping onto them so tightly that her knuckled were white. Ash backed away in alarm from the scene.

"What the heck is going on here?" Ash asked, his eyes scanning both of them.

Brock was the first to speak. "I dunno! Misty's goin' crazy!" He struggled a bit from underneath her.

Ash looked over to Misty, seeing her face twisted and her lips pulled back, showing her clenched teeth. He noticed that she was breathing rather choppily. Her knotty, clumpy hair spilled over her face.

"Something crashed over there!" Misty squeaked, pointing her finger towards the wall without opening an eye.

Ash and Brock followed her pointed finger. Brock didn't know quite what he was looking for, but as soon as she had pointed, Ash knew well. His eyes immediately flew to the floor, where sure enough, the same photo of them in Celadon City lay on the floor. Only this time, the glass was shattered. Tiny, flashing pieces of glass glistened amidst the blue carpet.

"Oh, damn," Ash moaned, carefully stepping over his friends. Misty and Brock watched as he bent down and picked up the cracked frame, cautious to not drop any more pieces of glass on the floor. Without a word, he lifted it up, and looked at it for a moment.

He shrugged and sighed, then looked down at Misty and Brock. Misty was still hugging Brock closely, who had now draped a comforting arm around her shoulders. A small smile crept to his mouth, and he shuffled the photo in his hand.

"I don't know what my wall suddenly has against this picture," he laughed, mostly in an attempt to cheer Misty up. She didn't look at all better. His smile weakening, he frugally placed the remainder of the photo on his dresser. The fact that it had happened again was beginning to upset him, but he refused to scare Misty or Brock any further.

Misty was beginning to simmer down, breathing in and out softly. She was still a little shaken up, tugging gently at Brock's pajamas. Well, at least they finally had seen the picture fall. Ash had certainly not made that one up. And at the same moment, she remembered the tapping, as well.

"Ash! The tapping," she said, a little muffled.

Ash's eyelids rapidly flew open. "The tapping? You—you heard it?"

Her mouth agape, she nodded affirmatively. "It—it was behind that wall," she told him, motioning towards it with a nod.

Ash groaned and looked at the wall, giving it a nasty glare. Why had it come back? When they were in his room the whole evening and nothing had happened, he was starting to feel positive that at least _that_ had gone away. But it was back again, doing the same unbelievable damage that it had before. With an angry grunt, Ash kicked the wall hard.

"Ash, stop!" Brock shouted, shocked. "You're gonna wake your mom up!"

"I don't care!" Ash replied. "What the hell is going on?! I don't like this!"

"I don't like it either," Misty wailed softly. She buried her face into Brock's shoulder.

Brock sighed softly. With the recollection of the typewriter incident earlier, he didn't know what to think. Misty wasn't one to make up insane stories, but she did let her imagination get the best of her sometimes. The wall thing didn't sound that unbelievable, but he still didn't like the fact that he hadn't heard it yet. As it all turned out, what was believed to be just a wild excuse for Ash to get out of cleaning had resulted in the three of them being woken up abruptly at five in the morning, clutching each other in fear.

"So, what are we doing here?" he asked indifferently, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

Ash shrugged, leaning against his dresser. His eyes yearned for more sleep, but he was too excited now to even think of it. He looked over despondently at the smashed photo on his dresser, and a new rush of nervousness swept through him.

"There's something weird going on here," he announced, running a hand through his tangled, black hair.

"What do think it is?" Misty asked him, her eyes full of dilemma. Ash quivered slightly at her distressed expression.

"I don't know," he replied calmly, his attention shifting to the floor.

"It's scary," Misty said. "It's _really_ creepy."

Without warning, and completely out of the moment, Brock began to chuckle. Ash and Misty looked strangely at their suddenly amused friend.

"Guys," he giggled, shaking his head. "The way you're talking, you sound like this place is haunted or something!"

He continued to laugh, but stopped gradually as he realized that they were not joining in on laughing like he had expected them to. He stopped completely, taken aback at their somewhat distraught expressions.

"Oh, c'mon!" he exclaimed. "You're kidding, right?"

Ash and Misty's eyes rose, and they seemed to shrug with them. Brock looked at each one of them separately, unable to believe that they were actually thinking that. The Ketchum house, haunted? Insane! Where in the world did they pick up that intuition?

"Don't doubt it yet, Brock," Ash said calmly, his lips barely moving. "I mean, I hardly believe that that's what it is, but…" He trailed off for a moment, leaving Misty and Brock in a small second of suspense. "…How else can you explain what we've been experiencing lately?"

Misty groaned fearfully, and Brock shook his head. "Stupid coincidences?" he suggested, shrugging. "Come on, Ash, do you really believe in that crap?"

"I do," Misty put in neurotically. Ash and Brock looked down at her. Her eyes humbly darted from Ash's to Brock's, and she breathed in deeply. "I mean…Ash could be right. He does have a point. I don't know about you, but right now I was about to have a heart attack. And stupid things like the house settling or our imaginations don't scare me _that_ much."

Neither Ash nor Brock responded to this. Misty's terrified words sunk into them, and it made them think. Misty did get frightened a lot sometimes, but she always knew what was worth getting scared over. They watched as she released her grip finally from Brock, and climbed up to Ash's bed again. Stroking her sleeping Togepi, Misty curled herself into a little ball underneath the covers, and looked down at her two friends, almost like she was expecting something from them.

They were still silent, and ever so gradually, they both returned to their sleeping bags. The sun was beginning to rise, casting bright streaks of light across the bedroom walls. The kids lay down, but none of them slept. Ash, Misty, and Brock remained awake, but almost in a trance, until they finally arose many hours later.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Hi everyone! This chapter is for my good friend Llyxius! She's got an awesome story up called "Ash and Misty's Love." It's very good, so go read it! Full of Pallet Town goodiness! Uh, is that a word? Anyways, it's really cute and a lot of fun. And there's a lot of AAMR, too.

Part 5 in a couple days! Be patient, my dear readers!


	5. Part 5

**Spooked**

_by Spruceton Spook_

Part 5

Ash, Misty, and Brock were tired. Dead tired. It was blatantly evident in the way they slumped down the stairs, their heads hanging and their feet dragging pathetically. The only thing that was somewhat stimulating was the presence of a fresh, new, beautiful day ahead of them.

But the thought of training was merely pushed aside in Ash's head. He pondered his shattered photo upstairs and Misty's terror-stricken account of the ghostly tapping behind his wall. Both mystical events had returned, but why _then_? How come the picture hadn't fallen during all those other hours that had passed? Why wasn't the tapping consistent? Benumbed, he shook his head clear of it, not wanting to plague himself with the constant torture of trying to figure something enigmatic out. Ash hated that.

Misty was frighteningly pale, as white as a sheet. Her eyes were swollen and bloodshot, and they drooped sickly. She was a mess, and was feeling every bit of the sleep she had lost. Normally, she would have remained in bed, but her phobia of the room kept her from doing so. She just wanted to be out of there and in the presence of everyone, where she felt at least moderately comfortable.

Brock was not happy. He had been perfectly satisfied in his peaceful sleep, dreaming on and off of pretty girls and getting their phone numbers. He would have _liked_ to have continued dreaming, but out of all things to interrupt, Misty grappling onto him wide-eyed in fear over some ridiculous tapping was unacceptable. He silently cursed his bad luck as they hauled themselves to the kitchen.

As soon as Delia caught sight of the exhausted kids, her jaw dropped to the ground in shock.

"Wow, you kids certainly look freshened up," she announced sarcastically.

"We didn't sleep good," Ash told her weakly, plopping down soundly into one of the kitchen table chairs.

"Not at all," added Brock, rubbing his tired eyes.

Brock and Misty crashed into chairs, as well. Misty set Togepi in front of her, then proceeded to dump her tired head into her folded arms.

Delia sauntered over to them quietly, slightly amused and slightly concerned at their sluggishness, and stopped in back of Ash. Taking on good, sad look at the wiped-out kids, she bent down and kissed Ash's head, then rubbed it briskly. Her weary son looked up and found her smiling lovingly at him.

"What's the matter, sleepy-head?" she gibbered, delicately brushing the loose hair from his eyes. The motherly touch made Ash's stomach flutter pleasantly, but he was too troubled by the current events to indulge in it.

Closing his eyes, he moaned softly. "Oh, Mom…it happened again."

"What happened?" Delia asked worriedly.

Misty looked up at her. "The tapping, Mrs. Ketchum. It came back."

"Tapping?" For a moment, Delia looked utterly puzzled, but that look was soon replaced as recollection set in, and her shoulders slumped. She sighed in annoyance, and brought her hands to rest on her hips.

"Oh, are you starting _this_ again?" she inquired, sounding more than a little exasperated.

Ash rolled his eyes, getting quite fed up that she refused to believe any of their unusual accounts. "Mom, I _swear to God_ it happened again!"

"Don't swear to God, Ash."

"But how else am I gonna get you to believe me?" Ash demanded almost in a whine, flipping around in his chair.

Delia narrowed her eyes and was about to reply, but Misty interrupted quickly with a grim testimony of her own.

"It's true, Mrs. Ketchum. It woke up me at, like, four in the morning. There was this weird tapping behind the wall," she calmly but pointedly explained. "And then that picture fell off the wall again—"

Delia regarded Brock, who was silently listening to the whole thing with his head resting on his hand. Due to his age, and fact that she observed him as being a very honest and mature young man, she always relied on him to confirm what the other two were saying, to decipher the truth from the mumbo-jumbo. She was giving him that knowing look now, a small, amused grin gracing her lips.

"Is this true?" she asked Brock flat-out.

Brock shut his eyes and shrugged. "Well, when I woke up, the picture was broken on the floor, and Misty was pretty scared," he said.

"But what about the tapping?" Delia asked.

"_Hello?!_ Are we even _here_?" Ash asked in frustration. He waved his hand in front of his mom's eyes, but she whacked it away without even throwing him a glance.

"I didn't hear any tapping," Brock sighed. He paused, evoking the chilling memory of the typewriter incident, then continued. "But if Ash and Misty said they heard it, then…I believe them."

Ash and Misty smiled with surprised happiness as Brock said this, thankful that he was supportive and on their side. Delia drew away from his statement, and all actually seemed settled for a brief moment…that was until Ash had to once again voice his opinion on the situation.

"Mom, I think our house's haunted," he declared, gripping onto his chair tightly as he said it. The words coming out of his mouth were even reluctantly frightening to him.

Without a doubt, what Ash had said did not strike Delia the right way. She looked at him so outrageously that it made Ash swiftly rethink his announcement.

"_Ash_," she grumbled. "I _don't_ want to hear that!"

"But what if it _is_?!" Ash protested, getting up out of his chair in a sort of face-off against his mother.

"Because there are no such things as ghosts," Delia insisted firmly. "You shouldn't be scared of such nonsense!"

Ash's face fell. He turned to Misty and Brock, who were sitting silently. Neither one of them felt like adding something after what Delia had just said. She had certainly voiced what she thought, and the humorless look she was following up with conveyed that clearly.

Saddened by the way the event was unfolding, Ash's shoulders sagged as his attention returned to his mother. "Then what did we hear, Ma?" he asked her softly. "If you're so certain that it wasn't…" He hesitated for a moment just to build up enough courage to utter the word in front of her. "…a _ghost_, then…what was it?"

Delia surveyed her son's expression. He definitely didn't seem to be making up what he and the others were telling her, but she was not ready to accept such baloney. They were undoubtedly anxious, but she was determined to prove to them that there was nothing to worry about. Her arms folded in front of her, she sighed calmly, trying to summon composure.

"It was simply an excuse for you to get out of cleaning your room," she tapped Ash lightly on the nose, which he flinched indignantly from. "The product of your wild imaginations after being caught in the dark during a storm, and…" She smiled at Misty. "A bad dream. That's all it was. And you all have this going straight to your heads."

Ash gaped at her. He recoiled, the urge to contradict her eating so strongly at his forced resistance. It immediately rekindled his resentment as she once again claimed he had started the whole thing. Ash hardly ever lied to her. Sure, he had gotten away with a couple fibs here and there, and any time he had ever attempted a major lie he had always cracked after a while under the pressure of guilt. He was never so serious and so dead-set about something as he was now.

"Mom—" he started, blinking slowly once.

"Uh-uh, no more!" Delia told him stiffly, her voice rising. "This house is _not_ haunted. Ash, look at me!" She pointed to herself. "I've woken up in this house and I've gone to bed in this house for eleven years. I've been in numerous blackouts in the house. I lived in this house_ alone_ ever since you left, and not _once_ have I heard anything that sounded _remotely _out of the ordinary. So, if this house was haunted, like I told you, I would know. Okay? I would _know._"

Misty and Brock nodded, but Ash didn't. He simply stood there, stroking Pikachu's head to calm himself down. There was some sense to what she was saying. He never felt unsafe in his home, and the few times he had felt scared of ghosts or the occasional monster under his bed were when he was quite little.

"You're right, Mrs. Ketchum," Brock suddenly said, wrenching Ash from his own tiny world of temporary brooding. "You're absolutely right. I don't know what we were thinking."

Ash and Misty were undoubtedly shocked at what he had just said, sending them into a state of confusion. Brock looked at each of them shortly, catching their baffled glances. He nodded his head lightly at Delia, and returned his attention to her.

"You won't hear any more from us." Brock's eyes flipped to Ash. "Will she, Ash?"

Ash looked at him with a puzzled expression, but when he saw Brock glare at him momentarily, he begrudgingly nodded. Delia nodded, also, giving her son and friends a harmless grin, and turned away to pour her coffee, which had been ready for a while. With her back turned, Ash and Misty shot Brock sneers across the table, which the older teen simply waved away.

"Just wait," he mouthed to them, smiling slyly.

* * *

"What the hell was _that?!_" Misty demanded of Brock, stomping noisily up the boy and getting right to his face. The three were making their way out into the open fields of Pallet Town. The sun was high in the sky, and the smoldering, early afternoon humidity encompassed the spunky kids. Ash was a good of couple feet ahead of them, his hat already turned backwards in preparation for a full day of training.

"That," Brock replied calmly, "was the plug to a _very ugly_ situation that could have happened."

Misty gave him a face. "Ugly?"

Brock nodded. "Couldn't you tell how annoyed Mrs. Ketchum looked?" he asked her. "She didn't like what we were telling her one bit."

"That's because my mom doesn't believe in ghosts," Ash said suddenly. He turned his head slightly and looked over his shoulder at his two friends walking behind him. Brock and Misty didn't expect him to join in the conversation because his head seemed to be elsewhere, most likely already in the field where they were planning to battle.

Misty smiled incredulously. "How can anyone not believe in ghosts? They're so real."

Ash shrugged, looking straight ahead again. "Well, she doesn't think so."

Misty found this conversation difficult to continue with them so separated, so she sprinted to catch up to Ash. Brock followed suit.

"Do you think so, Ash?" she asked, her voice coming to a sweet squeak.

"Think what?"

Misty rolled her eyes. "That ghosts are real."

"Ghost Pokémon are real."

"That's not what I mean," she grinned, giving him a friendly shove. Togepi giggled in her arms.

Ash was silent for a moment, his eyes looking up at the white, puffy clouds above. They floated so peacefully, casting pleasant, non-threatening shadows on the green mountains. He felt peaceful, as well, and closed his eyes to bask in the warm sunshine that beat down on his face.

Ash moved his glance to Misty, and smiled at her. "Course I do. Heh, I'm kinda scared of them, too."

Misty flashed her bright smile again. "Oh, Mr. Pokémon Master is scared of ghosties?" she teased. "I would've never known!"

Ash chuckled and blushed embarrassingly. "Well, not _that_ scared," he replied in modest defense.

"But you _are_ scared of them!" she said.

Ash shrugged. "Yeah. What's so wrong with that?"

"Nothing, it's funny!" she replied, breaking into sudden laughter.

Her laughter eating slightly at his pride, Ash found himself becoming annoyed and embarrassed. Gritting his teeth, he shot her a snarl. "Wait a second! Excuse me, but weren't _you_ the one who was suffocating Brock this morning?" he inquired of her, folding his arms in front of him when she suddenly stopped laughing. "You seemed _pretty_ scared to me."

"Who knows if that was a ghost?" she questioned in reply. "It could have been anything."

Ash gave her an absurd face. "So you're telling me that if you _had_ seen a ghost, you wouldn't have been scared?"

"No," she said. "I was scared 'cause I thought…I mean—I, uh, see…"

"What are _talking_ about?" Ash demanded, the marbles in her mouth rendering him impatient.

Misty grumbled. "Nothing! I, uh…Brock, help me out!"

Ash and Misty glared at each other as they awaited Brock's reply. But Brock didn't say a word. The two, befuddled, quickly looked behind them.

Brock was standing about a hundred yards away from them, leaning casually on a tree. He had an easily distinguishable smirk on his face.

"You guys finally realize I wasn't there?" he laughed. "I thought you wanted to battle here today, Ash."

Ash and Misty looked around, and sure enough, they were standing in the middle of field they had been heading to. Absorbed in their argument, they had been unintentionally walking right through it.

Ash chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "Hehe, oh yeah. Thanks, Brock."

Brock nodded. "Anytime. What do you say we stop bickering and start training?"

Ash and Misty shot each other one last glare, though it couldn't have been more harmless, and headed over to Brock. Brock shook his head humorously, thinking of the amazingly strange things his two younger friends fought over.

They spent the rest of the picturesque day battling and preparing for the highly-anticipated, swiftly-approaching Pokémon League.

* * *

The kids returned later that evening, their clothes plastered with dirt and their hair sticky with sweat. Ash wiped his glistening brow as he entered the house and yawned. The house held a comforting aroma of dinner in the oven.

"Hi, sweetie," his mom welcomed him softly, glancing up from the newspaper. She was curled up on the sofa. "How was your day?"

Ash responded by collapsing exhaustingly in the entranceway.

Delia nodded. "Yeah, I certainly hear you."

Misty smiled and gave Ash a gentle kick. "Come on, Ash, let's get cleaned up."

Ash just groaned. "Too tired," he moaned. "Just leave me here." Every bone and muscle in his body ached. He felt that he hadn't trained so much in his life. Even when they weren't battling, he was a barrel of unstoppable energy, barely giving himself one minute of rest. Brock and Misty had warned him earlier to slow it down, but he insisted that he needed the workout after spending too many lazy hours at home in the recent weeks. Ash realized now, in hindsight, that he should have taken their advice.

Delia lifted her head up to look at her fallen son. "Ash, you're filthy! Misty's right, dear. Go get cleaned up. Dinner's going to be ready soon."

Ash kept his head down. He honestly could have fallen asleep right then and there. "Carry me, Mama," he mumbled softly.

Delia rolled her eyes. "Oh, give me a break ,Ash!" she laughed.

Brock chuckled and bent down to grab Ash. Ash just draped lifelessly as Brock lifted him slightly off the ground.

"Ash!" Brock grumbled, huffing from his weight. "C'mon!"

When Ash proved unresponsive, Brock simply dropped him back down. Pikachu nudged his trainer lightly. The other three shook their heads, grinning at the wearied boy on the ground. It was going to be one of those nights.

* * *

Two hours later, Ash's room was pitch black. He and his other two friends were snuggled deeply under their blankets, the eyes clasped shut in hopes of falling asleep. Misty held Togepi close to her, who was awake only because he could feel Misty's uneasy heartbeat.

Brock lay on his back, his hands rested casually behind his head. He was far from relaxed, however. Smirking slightly, he turned to Ash, who was facing him. Ash's one hand was jammed under his head, the other lying limply across the floor.

"Is anyone asleep yet?" he asked apathetically, slurring his words.

Ash blinked his eyes once slowly, as if shrugging. "I can't," he replied.

"Well, no one's sleeping up here, either," Misty announced from the dark. Despite how tired she felt, her voice was sharp and alert.

Ash groaned, and propped himself up on his elbows. "This is ridiculous," he grumbled.

Misty sat up and switched the light on beside the bunk. They had been lying in the dark for an hour or so—a good hour of quiet and patience.

Brock reached up and ran his hands through his thick, brown hair. "Are we gonna be like this _all_ night?"

Misty just replied by huffing in exasperation and throwing herself down flat on the bed again. "I hope not! I want to sleep so bad!"

Ash arched an eyebrow at her. "Is your heart beating really fast like mine?"

Misty flipped around and draped over the bed, glancing down at her friend disappointedly. "Yeah, it is."

"Every time I close my eyes I hear the typewriter in my head," admitted Brock, who was resting his face in his hand, stretching it a bit. He let out a small chuckle. "Man, it's so sick."

"I think we're all sick," Ash deduced. "I mean, this is crazy! We've slept in such creepy forests and stuff, and we were never scared of those!"

Brock and Misty were silent, not quite sure what to say. True, they had been in more frightening surroundings than Ash's secure bedroom, that was for sure. But as much as they hated to acknowledge it, they couldn't help their minds wandering off in contemplation of the circumstances.

"You're right, Ash," Misty told him, sounding ashamed. "This _is _crazy. We should be asleep. And that's exactly what I'm gonna do…_sleep_."

"Har har. Real easy, Misty," Ash retorted. "I've been trying to do that for an hour."

"Me too," Brock put in. "And I'm not getting anywhere, either."

"Well, neither am I," Misty responded, bringing the covers close to her chin. She was starting to become agitated with the whole situation, and there was only one solution. "But if I close my eyes and lie down, sooner or later I'll fall asleep."

With that, she covered herself up and shut the light off, leaving Brock and Ash in the darkness. Ash shuddered at it slightly, but took a deep breath and lay down. He wished he had his old night light from when he was little. But his mom had put it away somewhere, and looking for it now was definitely not something he was enthused to do. When he noted the silence overtaking the room, he closed his eyes and settled in. He tried to concentrate on something soothing, something pleasant to ease his nerves.

How long he remained that way, he wasn't sure. Every time Ash felt like he was falling asleep, he would snap awake again, grumbling at his misfortune. This was no good. He figured he'd been doing this for a good half-hour or so, at least. Pikachu was apparently asleep, since he could hear soft snoring from the warm body beside his stomach.

Biting his lip, he turned over on his other side and attempted to fall asleep once again. It didn't matter which way he slept; he had tried them all.

_What's wrong with me?_ he questioned himself pathetically. _Why can't I sleep? This is so stupid. Why is this happening to me again?_

Unfortunately, it was the truth—it _was_ happening to him again. As a young child, Ash was always easily frightened. He never liked the strange noises the house made or the scary arms the tree branches made on his ceiling. Thunderstorms were a guaranteed sleepless night. And undoubtedly, any time he had felt the least bit uneasy, he always ran to his parents' room and straight into Delia's arms. Each and every time she assured him that there was nothing to be worried about. She'd told him not to be scared, and to go back to bed with the renewed confidence of how safe he really was.

"Your mommy and daddy are right here, Ash," she would tell him gently, rocking the shivering boy on her lap. "You don't have to be afraid. Nothing's going to bother you."

So Ash would return to his room, perhaps not as scared as he was when he left but not entirely confident. Sometimes, he felt as though they just couldn't see what he saw, couldn't hear what he heard. After a while, he acknowledged that there was no use going to his mother. His father was no more of a help. Eventually, he had learned to deal with his fear in his own way, and though a prolonged struggle, he had become quite acceptable at it. For some reason now, though, his old fear was resurfacing. Where it had come from, he didn't know. And he wasn't sure how to deal with it, either. He couldn't certainly run to his mom's room—he was too old for that. Deep down, part of him wanted to, but he dismissed the thought roughly.

_Act your age, Ash_, he scolded himself, wincing. _There's nothing here, and you know that! _His mother was right. Nothing ever _did_ bother him, after all. He was here to attest to that. So why would anything bother him now?

Suddenly, just as Ash had concluded verifying to himself that his house was just as safe as it had been when he was young, his eyes shot open.

_What was that?!_ Ash clamored in his mind, terrified. At that moment, he could have sworn that he had heard something downstairs. It was just the slightest creaking of the floorboards, but he knew exactly which floorboard it was. Only when you walked over the threshold of the door between the kitchen and living room did the house make that particular noise. It was as easily distinguishable to Ash as was the sound of wind.

He would have tried to convince himself it was only his imagination before the sound occurred again. His heart seemed to stop. _Oh God! No, please not again!_ he pleaded, recoiling his face even more. He quickly threw a glance at his door. It was shut, and no light protruded from underneath it.

_It's not Mom. Mom always turns the hallway light on!_

At the realization that it couldn't possibly have been Delia, Ash tensed greatly. The house didn't make that sound on its own. Someone had to physically step on that spot. And he had heard someone step on it not once, but _twice_.

Ash waited for a while and listened to see if he could hear it again. His breathing was rather intense, but he remained gathered enough to keep his senses in line.

_I know I didn't make that up!_ he assured himself. _I heard it, I _know_ I did!_

And then he heard it again. Ash bit his tongue at the sound of it, making him cringe in sudden pain and fear. Panic swept through him.

"Misty? Brock?" he choked out in a fearful whisper. "You guys awake?" There was no reply. They had fallen asleep an hour ago.

Realizing that his friends were out cold, Ash began to lose his nerve even more. He was alone in this, paralyzed with fear in his sleeping bag. And worse yet, he didn't know where to begin to think. His mind was a bunch of twisted, confused swirls, doing nothing more than throwing him into the most intense state of apprehension he'd felt in a long time.

TO BE CONTINUED . . .


	6. Part 6

**Spooked**

_by Spruceton Spook_

**Part 6**

Ash couldn't breathe. He clenched his sweaty palms shut tightly, trying to control his viciously beating heart. Hearing the floorboards creak downstairs was fifty times worse than the tapping behind his wall. The fact that there was dead silence now was making Ash even more nervous. He was positive that he had heard it, but as much as he feared it, he wanted to hear it again, to make sure that he wasn't going insane.

_Maybe Mom's sleepwalking_, Ash thought, immediately shaking his head afterward. _You idiot! She doesn't sleepwalk!_

With that thought firmly pushed out of his head, Ash was left to come up with a probable reason for the noise. He became more nervous by the minute, throwing around some possibilities, but dismissed them just as easily. There was no feasible incentive for the floorboard, only the fact that someone had to be down there stepping on it.

Quivering heavily, Ash had no choice but to pull his legs out of the sleeping bag. His curiosity was beginning to surpass his fear. He knew there was no way he'd be able to sleep unless he actually went down to assure himself that there was nothing. _Hopefully _there was nothing, that was.

Ash nervously ran a hand through his knotty hair as he stood. His eyes were adjusted to the dark, allowing him to make his way to the door effortlessly. Opening the door tediously and quietly, Ash poked his head out before leaving the room. Sure enough, the light in the hallway was off, and his mother's door was closed. It wasn't her for sure.

Shaking at the fact that his mother was as sound asleep as Misty and Brock, Ash gulped and tiptoed slowly down the hallway. He needed a light badly, using the walls as his guide through the dark house. He was being as quiet as he possibly could, taking each step carefully and lightly.

Ash reached the upstairs landing, and stood a safe distance from the stairwell. He didn't feel like adding falling down the stairs to his list of worries. Standing with the stairs descending before him, Ash froze and listened. There was no sound coming from below. His living room was dark and quiescent. The only sound coming from it was the soft tick-tock of the mantle piece clock above the fireplace.

Building up as much courage as he could, Ash began to make his way down the stairs. Fear rose in him rapidly. Coming closer and closer to the living room was sending him into a state of terror. He had always hated his living room at night. It frightened him considerably when he was young, and he stayed as far away from it as possible. He had always imagined things lurking in the darkness, ready to pounce. Delia had kept a small night light in it as well as in other places of the house to help lead Ash to the bathroom if he needed, and Ash wished that they were there now. It was actually a little disappointing…it seemed that as soon as he had left on his Pokémon journey, his mom had completely rid the house of his childhood.

He stopped at the middle of the staircase, the dark engulfing him from all directions. He could barely see a foot in front of his face, yet he was as alert in the darkness as a Vileplume. Gripping onto the banister even more tightly, he scanned the room slowly, his eyes finding their way gradually to the kitchen entranceway. He was afraid of looking there, where he had heard the dreaded creaking of the floorboard. What if something was standing there now? Ash didn't even know what he'd do.

Taking a deep breath, Ash looked over at the doorway. The moon was casting its bright rays through the kitchen windows, creating streaks along the floor. It illuminated the threshold of the kitchen, and Ash felt a wave of relief pass through him when he saw that nothing was there. Nothing. What a wonderful word that was.

Ash smiled awkwardly, licking his dry lips. His tensed body gradually relaxed as he stood on the stairway. Shifting his weight from one foot to another, the stairs let off a small creak, startling him for a second but then making him chuckle foolishly to himself. With one loud, comforting yawn, Ash decided that it was time for him to head back to bed, and rid his mind of the so-called creaking that he had heard. His eyes were drooping, and he lazily squinted them as he turned back upstairs.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something flash by the moonlight streak across the kitchen floor. Ash's heart immediately skipped a beat, and his mouth dropped open in fear. He spun around in the direction of the kitchen, and his eyes darted around nervously.

_Oh my God!_ he thought, finding his breathing starting to increase. The skip his heart had made was making itself up by beating even faster. _Did I see that? Did I really see that?!_

He didn't want to find out. In a split second, Ash spun around towards the upstairs again, and bolted up without another hesitation. He didn't get too far, though. As soon as he collided into the soft barrier he let out a small yelp, too frightened to even create a scream. Sudden panic swept through his body at the speed of light, and he staggered backwards, almost falling down the stairs.

After the yelp, he began to breathe loudly and soundly, hyperventilating in terror. The darkness surrounded him ominously, disallowing him to see what he had bumped into. He lost his cool at that moment, and his hands flew up protectively and instinctively to his chest. Oh God, he wished he had a light. He wished he could see. What was going on…?

"Ash! Ash, calm down!" Ash suddenly felt the hands of his mother grip him tightly on the shoulders, holding him from accidentally falling down the stairs. "It's me!"

Breathing precariously, it took Ash a few good seconds to realize that it was only Delia. It was still dark around them, and Ash shakily made out the vague outline of his mom. "M-m-mom? What…? Oh, man…"

Delia didn't like the way Ash was acting, and in a flash she rushed up a few steps to snap the hallway light on. The brightness assaulted Ash's eyes, and his hands flew up to them immediately.

"Ash, are you all right? What's the matter?" Delia asked of him nervously. Ash's bumping into her was not easy on her nerves, either, but right now her only concern was for her son. It was only when she heard his light yap that she realized it was him, which is why she had remained calm.

Ash brought his hands away from face to reveal a blurry vision of Delia before him. The light was still not good to him, but he squinted just enough to look into the worried face of his mother. His eyes then instantly fell to the baseball bat she held in her hand.

Delia followed his eyes to it, and she let out a small chuckle. She lifted the bat up. "When you live alone, you gotta know how to protect yourself." She smiled at Ash, who was still breathing noticeably. "Didn't mean to scare you, sweetie."

Ash didn't say anything. He rubbed his face. "Oh my God, Mom…"

"What's the matter? Are you okay, or what? You scared the daylights out of me," said Delia. Ash looked up at her. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were red with sleeplessness.

"Nothing," Ash answered groggily. "I just—nothing. I'm okay."

Delia cocked her head. "Are you sure? You look really pale." She reached out to feel his forehead for fever. "Do you feel all right?"

"I said I'm fine!" Ash replied. His voice was still shaking, and Delia noticed this. "I just wanna go back to bed, okay?"

"Well, why'd you get up?" his mother inquired. She looked concerned now.

Ash just wished he could get back to his bed. He didn't want to tell Delia why he was really awake. _Oh yeah, Mom, I came down cause I heard the ghost again! And this time, I actually saw it, too! _Ash shuddered at the thought. He couldn't tell her that, knowing she wouldn't be pleased with being woken up for this reason. She had already become fed up numerous times when he was younger, when he woke her at ungodly hours of the night because he saw a spooky shadow.

His sleepiness and deep thought caused him to not respond for a while. Delia was becoming more worried.

"Ash, what's going on?" she asked, her voice rising in anxiety. "Why are you up?"

"No reason," Ash said softly. He tried to pass her to get back upstairs, but she stopped him.

"Tell me what's the matter!" his mother demanded, her sudden harsh tone making him tremble. "You're scaring me!"

Ash knew that it solely her worry that was making her sound upset, and he understood that. But he couldn't tell her why…he had to make something up and fast. "I had to go to the bathroom," he said quickly.

Delia gave him an absurd look. "_In the pitch black?_"

"Well…yeah," Ash replied, his eyes flipping around nervously. "What's wrong with that?"

Delia just stared at him. "Ash, we have lights in this house. They're there to help you get through the dark. Why didn't you put the light on?"

_Because you can't see ghosts in light…_ "I dunno." _Smart answer there, Ash!_

"Then why did you tell me that you came down for no reason?" Delia said, shrugging, looking suspiciously at her son. "C'mon! I don't like being woken up in the middle of the night thinking there's someone in the house! Why are you sneaking around?"

Ash fought to think up a lie again, but he stopped himself abruptly. Taking a deep breath, he shook his head and looked down at his feet. Throwing a quick glance up at his mom, he found her staring at him sternly and worriedly, awaiting his answer.

"I…I came down 'cause…because I heard something," Ash mumbled. "I heard something walking around down here." The whole thing came out sluggishly; Ash had barely moved his lips when he had spoken the sentence.

Delia's facial reaction fit Ash's prediction perfectly. She gave him an undeniable face of shock and anger that made Ash flinch.

"Is that what this is all about?!" she shouted as loudly as she could above a whisper. She didn't want to wake Misty and Brock. "Ash! I am _not_ in the mood for this now!"

Ash gulped nervously. "But I really did."

Delia huffed angrily, making Ash shudder. She shook her finger fiercely at her son. "All right, this is the final straw! I don't want to hear another word about this ghost stuff! This is _it_!"

Ash silently endured his mother's berating, cowering slightly. He lowered his eyes shamefully. He had expected this.

"For the final time, this house is not haunted!" she continued rigidly. "And I don't need you walking around in the dark in the middle of the night! You hear me?!"

"Yes, but…"

"But nothing!" she grumbled, advancing toward him to intimidate him with her size. But surprisingly to her, Ash looked up at her and dared to continue.

"But I saw it!" Ash exclaimed, quickly enough to get his word in. "Mom, I saw something over there by the kitchen!" He pointed his shaking finger towards the kitchen. His voice suddenly became wobbly in fear, both from the shadow he'd seen and his mother's sudden anger. "I'm not lying to you!"

"You've already lied to me once tonight about the bathroom!" she exclaimed, reaching out and grasping Ash firmly by the ear. Ash cringed painfully as she dragged him up the stairs.

"Ash, I'm tired and I have _a lot_ to do tomorrow!" she said, stopping herself and giving his ear a brutal yank. "So you'd better get to bed and cut this nonsense out! Do you understand me, young man?!"

Ash's eyes watered, and he clenched them shut as heated pain took over his ear. "Oww! Okay, okay…" he muttered. He wanted to break free of his mom's grip, but he knew that any movement he made would just cause her to squeeze harder. "Please lemme go! I'm sorry!"

Delia released her grip and Ash staggered forward. He turned around and looked sadly at her, holding his sore ear.

Delia glared at him sternly. "I don't want to hear one more thing about ghosts! Not one!"

"All right," Ash mumbled despondently. "You won't."

Delia pointed toward his room. "Now get to bed. I don't want to hear another peep from you."

"Okay," Ash said inaudibly, making his way slowly to his room. Ash lowered his head dispiritedly and entered his room, closing his door softly behind him. Dejectedly, he climbed into his sleeping bag and lay down, careful not to lie on his ear. It numbed dully, but it wasn't the only thing on Ash's mind. He thought about what he had seen, wondering if it was truly real or just a trick of his tired eyes. His preoccupation was soon succumbed by weariness, and he felt his eyelids drooping sleepily.

Delia took a deep breath, picked up the baseball bat, and headed back to her room. She couldn't believe that she was up at this time of night. She wondered what had suddenly gotten into Ash lately. He had never acted this way. Sure, he had been scared of things before, but never to the extent of tiptoeing his way through the dark house only to scare her out of her wits.

Sighing, she closed the door to her room and rested her back against it. The darkness was a whole lot better on her eyes, and sleepiness kicked in once again. Rubbing her aching temples, she headed back to her warm bed. She couldn't say that she didn't believe in ghosts totally. Perhaps they existed in those weird places like abandoned prisons and cemeteries, but not in her house. They had no reason to be. And it was the fact that Ash was making such a big deal about it that really upset her. She thought she brought him up not to believe in that baloney. Maybe it was the upcoming Pokémon League that was getting to him. In any case, tomorrow, she realized, she'd have to have a talk with Ash.

Before reaching her bed, though, she heard walking outside her room once again. It was soft, but still perceptible, and in an instant, Delia became infuriated again. She stamped over to the door and flung it open angrily.

"That's it, Ash, you're gonna get it now!" she roared, flipping the switch on inside of her room. The light swiftly illuminated most of the hallway, only for Delia to reveal a very wide-eyed Misty frozen before her. The young girl trembled at Delia's homicidal look.

"I'm sorry," Misty apologized softly and nervously. "I didn't mean—"

"Oh my God, no, honey, no…it's okay," Delia reassured her immediately. "_I'm_ sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that! I'm _so_ sorry!"

Misty was still speechless and motionless, startled considerably by Delia's sudden outburst. She unintentionally backed herself into the wall.

"Oh, Misty, I thought you were Ash," Delia chuckled, feeling terribly sorry for scaring Misty straight. She walked over to her and gave her a hug. "You poor girl! I'm so sorry. What's the matter?"

Misty stumbled over her words, her heart beating rapidly. She managed a nervous smile. "I—I have to go to the bathroom."

"Okay," Delia replied, letting Misty go. "Go, dear. I'm so sorry."

Catching her breath, Misty nodded. "It—it's all right."

Delia watched as Misty made her way slowly down the stairs to the bathroom below. She slumped against the wall and ran a hand through her hair. She needed sleep badly. But most importantly, she needed to get these kids back out on the road.

* * *

"Ash! Ash, wake up!"

Ash could hear the blurry voice of Misty echoing as he groggily woke up, the bright sunlight rushing to his eyes. He could feel her nudging him lightly.

"Hnnn…what?" he asked sleepily, yawning soundly. He flipped over on his back to see Misty smiling down at him.

"Will you get up already?" she asked, letting out a small chuckle. "C'mon, breakfast is ready!"

Ash rubbed his eyes and yawned again. Misty gave him a push and stood up, continuing to look down at the boy. It was going to take a moment for him to fully awaken, but Misty didn't mind. She always thought Ash waking up was somewhat amusing.

"_Ugh,_ what time is it?" Ash moaned.

"_Ugh,_ it's like ten o'clock," Misty retorted, copying Ash's sleepy garble.

Ash's eyes shot open. "It's ten already?!"

Misty nodded, giving him a sly grin. "Yeah. You were out like a light, Brock and I went downstairs for a while."

"Where's Pikachu?" Ash asked, looking around for his absent Pokémon.

"Downstairs, too," Misty smiled. "You out-slept everyone today."

Ash scratched his head and kicked his sleeping bag away from him. He was sweating from the heat of being inside of it, which clearly meant that the day was going to be even warmer. Misty watched with a grin on her face as Ash struggled to rise on his feet for the first time, wobbling a little from the remaining sleepiness in his body.

When he stood, he glanced at Misty. Misty cocked her head confusingly when she noticed how oddly he was looking.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

Ash yawned, letting his tongue flop out lazily and humorously. "Nothing," he replied apathetically. "Is my mom down there?"

Misty gave him a weird look. "Yeah…"

Ash nodded matter-of-factly. Sliding on his slippers, he headed for the hall.

"Why do you ask that?" Misty asked confusingly, starting after him.

Ash stopped and turned to her, shrugging. "I dunno, I kinda got her mad last night. I don't know if she's still mad at me today."

"Last night?" Misty asked. "About what?"

Ash fell silent for a moment. Quickly glancing to make sure no one was coming down the hall, he met her eyes seriously and lowered his head. She lowered hers in order to get down to his level.

"I'll tell ya later, okay?" he whispered. "After Mom leaves."

He lifted his head back up quickly and Misty glared at him absurdly. "What the heck are you talking about?!"

"Shhh!" Ash ordered, bringing his finger up to his pursed lips. "Just shush! I'll tell you and Brock later."

Misty was still giving him the strange look, and Ash smiled to reassure her it was nothing.

"First, I gotta make up with my mom," he said, and at that, spun around and left the room, leaving a completely baffled Misty in his wake. She followed shortly after, though.

Ash shuffled down the stairs but slowed as he neared the kitchen. He wanted to make sure that everything between him and Delia was going to be okay. He never liked it when she left for work angry with him. Besides, it was his fault and he knew he was the one who was going to have to apologize.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu exclaimed, rushing to Ash.

Ash giggled and stroked Pikachu's head. "Hey buddy. Good morning to you, too."

"So, you're finally up," Brock laughed. He was seated at the table, a half-empty plate of eggs in front of him. "What were ya doing, dreaming about the Pokémon League?"

Ash smiled ambiguously. "Yeah."

Ash could feel his mother's presence in back of him, and he turned slowly around to see her standing there with a plate of eggs in her hand. In the next second, Ash's face fell sadly and his glistening eyes looked up into her own.

"I'm sorry, Mom," he apologized sincerely, his voice cracking a bit. "About last night, I'm really sorry."

As soon as he said that, Delia smiled. "It's okay," she said softly, mumbling her words affectionately. "I'm sorry, too."

A smile crept to Ash's lips. Delia set the plate of eggs at Ash's place, then walked up to her son. She brought him in for a gentle hug. Ash hugged back while his mom rested the side of her head on his own. He smiled contentedly, happy to be okay with her again.

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I shouldn't have been so rough with you, sweetie. I didn't mean to hurt you. I was just tired, that's all. You gave me quite a scare."

Ash giggled softly, and their eyes met. "It's okay. You weren't rough with me. I'm an idiot, and I deserved it. Me and my stupid nightmares."

Delia smiled warmly again, and brought her hand up to rub Ash's ear. Ash closed his eyes blissfully as she massaged it lightly, quite the opposite of what she had done to it the night before. Delia bent down and kissed his ear, then kissed his forehead.

"Go have breakfast, you," she said, giving him a small push towards the table. "And you're not an idiot, either. Got that?"

"Got it," Ash chuckled. He sat down at the table, surprised to see that Misty was there now. She gave him another odd glance, but he smiled at her. Delia came by with a glass of fresh orange juice, which she placed in front of Ash. Patting his head playfully, she bent down to him.

"So everything's okay, now?" she asked in hopes of clarification. "No more silly stuff and giving me heart attacks? You're lucky your mama's not in the hospital."

Ash smiled. "Everything's fine. I thought we established that last night." He winked at her, and shoveled a huge forkful of eggs into his mouth.

Delia winked back and stood up. "All right, then. I gotta get out early today, so you guys'll be good, right?"

"We'll probably be out doing more training," Brock answered, scraping the last of his eggs onto his fork.

"Yeah. Ash needs it," Misty remarked. Ash just glared impishly at her.

Delia smiled. "Okay. Don't forget to lock up the house when you leave."

The three kids nodded, and Delia left the room to get dressed. Ash, Misty, and Brock finished up their breakfast in near silence. Misty found the lack of talking rather odd, but as she glanced from Brock to Ash, all she saw was their eyes lowered to the plates. Brock was as tired as she was, so there was that excuse for him. But Ash…what was it that was bothering him so much? And why didn't he want his mom around?

Misty shrugged mentally, but was brought out of her secluded world of thoughts when Delia came in a few minutes later.

"All right, kids, I'm heading out," she said. "I'll be back later this afternoon. Be careful out there."

Ash lifted his head and smiled. "We always are, Mom."

Delia smiled and nodded. She left the kitchen and the kids heard the front door close loudly behind her soon afterward.

Misty didn't hesitate at all to get the story out of Ash. "Okay. Spill it! What's this all about?" she inquired persistently.

Ash sighed and tilted his head back to make sure his mom was gone for sure. When he was certain of it, he turned back to them.

"I saw it," he said quietly and a bit mysteriously.

They both looked confused.

"Saw what?" Brock asked.

"It," Ash replied. "Ya know, the…the _ghost_."

Brock and Misty's faces illuminated in shock. Both their mouths dropped open immediately, and none of them dared to even doubt it for a moment.

"You saw the ghost?!" Misty asked excitedly, displaying an expression of partial shock and partial amazement. "When? Where?"

"What did it look like?" Brock added.

Ash smiled confusingly at the questions shot at him, and he brought his hands up in hopes of calming them. "Last night, in the middle of the night," he replied, his smile fading as he recounted the horrific tale. "I heard someone walking down here. Here, look!"

He jumped out of his chair and proceeded to stamp softly on the threshold between the kitchen and living room. Sure enough, it was producing the same noise he had heard the night before.

"I was hearing this noise last night!" Ash exclaimed.

"You're kidding!" Brock replied. "Man, are—are you sure it wasn't Pikachu or somebody?"

Ash nodded. "Pretty sure. Everyone was asleep."

Misty seemed to turn pale as she heard Ash telling the story. "But you saw it?"

Ash nodded seriously. "I think I did. I came down here in the pitch black, and out of the corner of my eye I saw this shadow flash by. Like something ran by the window or something."

Brock and Misty tensed up fearfully as he said this. This sounded too weird to be true, yet with all they had been experiencing lately, they were still going to give it a chance.

"Are you sure you weren't dreaming or something?" Brock asked, hoping that maybe there was a more logical reason behind it.

"I wasn't dreaming, Brock," replied Ash, stepping on the threshold again. "This is what I heard, and this is where I saw it."

Brock and Misty sighed heavily and leaned back in their chairs. Misty brought up her hands to rub her eyes. She couldn't believe she was hearing this. She became cold, the thought of the Ketchum ghost beginning to openly make known its presence. Suddenly, another thought came to her, and her heart took a leap.

"Ash, when was it last night that you saw it?" she asked him worriedly, her eyes open in fear.

Ash gave her a weird look. "Gee, I dunno. It was late, though. Why?"

"Because I came downstairs last night, also," she answered. "It was so weird. I mean, I came out your room quietly and all, and then your mom jumps out her room screaming and stuff. She scared the hell out of me!"

Ash's eyelids flew open rapidly. "Oh, crap! You must've come out right after me!"

"Huh?"

"I woke her up last night when I was down here looking for the ghost," Ash explained. "She was really mad when she found out that that was why I was down here. That's why I didn't want to tell you guys this until after she left. I promised her I wouldn't mention another word."

"I already told you not to say anything else, Ash!" Brock suddenly shouted. "I told you it was going to get ugly! Is that why you guys were apologizing like crazy to each other this morning?"

"Uh-huh," Ash replied. "But I couldn't help it! She dragged it out of me. She's good at that!"

Brock groaned and rested his face in his hands. Misty was not overly happy with what was going on. She was nervous, and the expression on her face confirmed that.

"What are we gonna do now?" she asked fearfully.

Ash looked at her for a moment quite seriously. "There's only one thing we can do, Misty."

She cocked her head impatiently.

"We have go on a full-out ghost stakeout," he replied. "And find this thing if it kills us."

TO BE CONTINUED . . .


	7. Part 7

**Spooked**

_by Spruceton Spook_

Part 7

"A ghost stakeout?" Brock asked incredulously, emitting a soft, amused chuckle. "You're kidding, right?"

Ash gave him a face. "What's so wrong with that? I gotta find this stupid ghost. It's bugging me!"

Misty nodded drearily. Her arms were wrapped worriedly around Togepi. "I'd sure like to get _one_ good-night's sleep." She looked down at the tabletop. "Maybe we _should_ try to find this thing."

The three kids were seated at the kitchen table, still clad in their pajamas their empty plates in front of them. All they could think about was Ash's encounter the previous night.

Brock sighed as his eyes darted from Ash to Misty. Ash looked somewhat determined while Misty looked upset enough to cry.

"So, what do you suggest we do?" Brock asked, crossing his arms in front of him.

Misty's eyes rose to look at Ash, who just shrugged. "I wouldn't even know where to begin," he admitted sadly.

Misty licked her lips. She was displaying absolutely no distinguishable facial expression. Her face was as blank as a clean sheet of paper. She had gotten a good sleep last night, aside from the rendezvous with Delia. Even though she had not encountered anything supernatural, the whole deal had left her shaken up and totally disoriented. She wanted it all to end.

Pushing a strand of her loose ginger hair behind her ear, she cleared her throat. She leaned across the table. "Well, let's think of it this way," she began, drawing the two boys' attention. Her eyes were still fixated down. "The only times that we heard the weird stuff was at night, right?"

"Well, I dunno," Brock responded, leaning across the table, also. "The typewriter thing was kinda in the evening."

"But it was still dark," Ash pointed out, his eyebrows rising at the realization that they were coming onto something.

"It seems to love making its appearance in the middle of the night, though," Misty highlighted, shaky in her words. "It's already done that twice."

"Exactly. Whatever this thing is, it only comes out in the dark," Brock said.

"Which is what ghosts do," Misty concluded, her voice suddenly drained.

A moment of silence passed, and the three stared down at the table. Each had a different thought going through their head. But each thought was virtually similar in the end, as they tried to formulate some way of solving the mystery that had befallen them.

Ash broke the silence by arching his back in a snap. "Wait a second!" he shouted. "What about the first time I saw it? That was in the middle of the day!"

"Hey, you're right," Misty replied, a baffled look coming to her face.

"Well, there goes that," commented Brock, turning to his friend. "I don't know what to think now."

Ash groaned. "Just great!" he exclaimed loudly, burying his face in his hands. "I thought we were _getting_ somewhere."

"We _can_ get somewhere, though," Brock said. "Let's just think of what's happened so far. Okay, first we got your tapping behind the wall…"

"Then the typewriter," Misty added, holding up two fingers as she counted the events.

"Don't forget that stupid picture," Ash mumbled, thinking about how his mom had made him vacuum the floor repeatedly of every last piece of glass. She had chalked that one up to a weakened nail hole.

Misty put up another finger.

"Ash's _seeing_ the ghost," Misty squeaked, a chill running down her spine at the mention of it.

"The tapping _again_ the other night," Brock said, making five.

Misty shook her head, recalling how she had almost died of fright that night. "Stupid tapping," Misty muffled silently.

Suddenly, Brock engaged into a deep thought. "Stupid tapping…" he started silently. "That's it!" he exclaimed, a broad smile lengthening on his face.

"What's it, Brock?" Ash asked, taken aback by Brock's cry.

Brock beamed. "The tapping behind the wall! That's the only place that the ghost has appeared more than once!"

Misty and Ash joined him in smiling. They suddenly felt victorious, Brock's realization lifting their spirits.

"So, what are you thinking?" Misty squealed in a perturbed manner, gripping Brock's pajama top in her fist.

"You think that that's where it is?" Ash asked.

Brock gave his friends a proud smile. "Well, that's where we've experienced it the most. Maybe it'll make another grand appearance!"

"And we'll be ready for it!" Ash grinned, rising his fist determinedly. The thought of ghost hunting was beginning to stimulate his excitement.

All of a sudden, Misty shrunk back in her chair as a nervous grin conquered her face. "Uh…we will?" she cheeped.

"Why, what's the matter, Misty?" Ash asked worriedly. His eyes suddenly narrowed mischievously. "You aren't scared, _are_ you?"

Misty giggled anxiously. With the sudden leap her heart had taken after she had thought of seeing the ghost, she wondered if she really was ready for it. "Who, me?"

"Yeah, you," Ash replied guilefully, snickering boyishly at her. "You'll do it, won't you?"

Ash's smile melted into her rapidly and she shivered. _I'll do it for __you__, Ash._ With a shaky hand, she displayed the victory sign and managed a brave smile. "Uh…I'm not scared at all!"

She suddenly leapt out of her chair and looked down at the startled boys. "Count me in!" she chimed uproariously. "Let's show this ghost who's boss around here!"

* * *

Ash, Misty, and Brock stood in Ash's room, their attentions all drawn to the wall behind the dresser. While Misty looked at it worriedly and Brock looked at it unemotionally, Ash glared at it determinedly. The blank spot on the wall where the Celadon City photo had once hung stood out considerably. Misty's shaky voice ultimately broke the silence.

"So, what's the deal with this wall?" she asked sheepishly.

"That's what we're gonna find out," Brock replied. He turned to Ash. "What do you think, Ash? Got any lead we can follow?"

Ash stroked his chin and stared at the wall momentarily. He was positively certain that the knocking had come from it. He shivered as he pictured a ghost the only way he could: covered all in white, decaying skeleton hands protruding from it, its face unseen, dark and sunken in, floating above the ground silently. Ash wondered if that's possibly what was behind the wall…

Suddenly, the light bulb went on.

"Behind the wall!" Ash cried suddenly, making Misty and Brock jump. Pikachu almost slipped off his shoulder in surprise and gripped his claws tightly into Ash.

"Huh?" Misty and Brock responded in unison.

Ash spun to face them excitedly. "Behind the wall!" he repeated, pointing to it. "Behind that wall is a crawl space! I just remembered that now!"

"A crawl space?" Misty asked, cocking her head.

Ash smiled. "Yeah, a crawl space! I used to hide in there all the time! It's right behind there."

Brock narrowed his eyes confusingly. "What are you thinking?"

"You think there's something _back there?_" Misty said fearfully.

Ash looked timidly at the wall. "I dunno. I mean…the tapping _did_ sound like it was coming from behind there…"

A chill ran down the three kids' spines. Pikachu's fur ruffled timorously.

Misty smiled weakly. "I have an idea! Why don't we all get dressed and go out and battle? What do you say, guys?"

Ash didn't respond, or even look at Misty for that matter. In the next second, he twirled around and dashed out of his room. Misty and Brock exchanged a flustered look, then bolted off after him.

They followed Ash into Delia's bedroom and bewilderedly watched him as he opened the door to his mother's closet.

"What are _doing_, Ash?" Misty asked as Ash dove into the closet. Pikachu hopped off before getting tangled between clothes.

Ash was buried halfway into the closet, engulfed by the hanging clothes. He pulled himself out, a huge wad of shoeboxes and bags in his arms.

"There's two ways to get into that crawl space," he told them, dumping the items on the floor beside him. "From here, and from my closet. And there's absolutely no way I can get through the stuff in my closet."

"Oh yes, then _by all means_ let's rip your mom's closet apart," Misty retorted, rolling her eyes.

"Are you actually planning on going into the crawl space?" Brock asked incredulously. "Do you think you're gonna see something in there?"

Ash paused for a moment as if contemplating Brock's inquisition, but then eyed his friend seriously. "Hey, this stupid ghost has gotten me into enough trouble already. If this thing just happens to be in there, at least I'll know for sure. And then I can get it out of my house."

At that, he dug into the closet again, throwing out another box. The closet was dark, dusty, and smelled of Glade plug-ins, making Ash's eyes water. He reached in front of him and fumbled around more hidden treasures until his fingers found the latch: the familiar latch he had unlocked many times during his childhood. Ash had loved the crawl space, pretending it was his own special hide-out. It was also the ultimate place for hide-and-seek when he played occasionally with Gary. Gary could never find him, and Ash won the game proudly.

Misty and Brock could hear a loud click as Ash unhooked the latch, and then a clunk as the door came out in his hands. Carefully placing it aside, Ash squinted as a blast of stale dust hit his face. He coughed and waved his hands in front of his nose to find clean air. It had been quite a while since anyone had been in there; Delia had closed it up after Ash had gotten hurt on a loose nail inside. And it was too inconvenient to store anything in it, either.

Peering into the neglected crawl space, Ash discovered in dismay that it was too dark to see a thing. "Hey guys, can you flip a light on here?" his muffled voice asked.

Misty reached up at the pull-string. The bulb came to life, but unfortunately Ash couldn't see any deeper into the crawl space than a foot or so. The entrance was illuminated enough, and Ash regarded it perplexedly.

"Huh," he said simply.

"What?" Brock's voice seemed so distant, as all the clothes were insulating Ash's earshot.

Ash bit his lip. "This crawl space looks a lot smaller than it used to."

Misty rolled her eyes. "Well, duh, Ash!" she shouted. "How long's it been since you've gone in there?"

Ash chuckled softly. "I dunno. Maybe three years." He thought for a moment. "I don't think I can fit in here, anymore."

He heard his friends sigh loudly.

"Do you see anything in there?" Brock asked.

Ash bent lower on his elbows to glance in. It was a minute alcove of the house, its only purpose for insulation. It could maybe fit a box or two for storage purposes, but only a small child such as Ash could have ever fit relatively comfortably.

Suddenly, Ash got an idea. "Hey, Pikachu! Come in here, will ya?"

Pikachu's ears pricked. "Pi?"

"C'mon! It's okay!" Ash called from deep inside the closet.

Pikachu slowly made his way into the closet, popping out from underneath Ash's crouched position.

"It's all up to you, buddy," Ash said softly but firmly to his Pokémon. "I can't fit in there, but you can. What do you say? Will ya go in there and check it out?"

Pikachu looked surprisingly into Ash's face, and his ears lowered unenthusiastically.

"Pika…" he moaned softly, shaking his head.

Ash could see his Pokémon trembling slightly. He frowned sadly, and stroked Pikachu's back.

"Pikachu, don't be afraid," Ash said soothingly. "I would go in there if I could, but I'm too big. You're the smallest one here. Don't you want to be the hero and see if there's anything in there?"

Pikachu took a hesitant glance inside the dark crawl space, then looked fearfully back at Ash. Ash smiled warmly and encouragingly at his pal, and after gulping loudly, Pikachu accepted the mission. He'd do this for Ash, even if he wasn't thrilled with it. Pikachu didn't exactly know what to expect, but after Ash showed his appreciation by patting his head energetically, the Pokémon was resolved.

Putting on a brave face, Pikachu cautiously proceeded into the crawl space. Darkness suddenly engulfed him, and almost instantaneously, Pikachu drew back nervously.

"What's the matter, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Pika pikachu pi," Pikachu replied, his eyes glimmering in the dim light.

"You can't see anything?"

Pikachu nodded.

Ash thought for a moment. "Hey, Misty?"

"Now what, Ash?" Misty asked, sounding a little annoyed. "What's going on in there? Can we get dressed yet?"

Ash sighed. "Misty, could you go into my room and get my flashlight? Pikachu can't see a thing in here."

"You're making Pikachu go in there?!" Misty yelled incredulously. "You're sending him in as _bait_?!"

"I can't fit in there, Misty!" Ash barked back agitatedly. "C'mon, will you go get the stupid flashlight?"

"Ash, if some ghost was in there, wouldn't you think it would've come out by now?" Brock asked, making Ash doubtful for a moment. He looked into the crawl space, seeing nothing but blackness. No mysterious glow or floating white sheet. Nothing. Unless…it didn't want to be seen…yet.

"Just please go get the flashlight," he implored again.

Misty trotted off into Ash's room and returned with his flashlight. She knelt down and knocked it lightly into Ash's backside, which was protruding slightly from the closet.

"Here," she said simply, and watched as Ash's arm came around to get it. "I hope there's still battery juice left."

"Yeah," Ash replied, thinking of how they had used the flashlight a few nights ago to play Capture the Flag in his backyard. "It should, though."

Ash flipped the switch on, and the flashlight came to life, blasting a sharp beam into Pikachu's face. Ash smiled contentedly and shined the light into the crawl space. Immediately visible were dark, wooden walls covered in many places with soft, pink pillows of insulation. They were tied back tightly with pieces of heavy rope, from which cobwebs extended. Both Ash and his Pokémon looked into the crawl space attentively.

Ash brought the light out of the space and shined it into his face. "Well, Pikachu," he said. "I'm counting on you, buddy. Chase that ghost out of there."

Pikachu hesitantly put on a determined face and nodded. "Pika!" he exclaimed, and began his way into the crawl space. He crouched down as he walked in slowly, shaking his long ears free of cobwebs that had caught on. Silence invaded the atmosphere, and the only thing audible was the soft clicking of Pikachu's claws on the wood.

"Does Pikachu see anything?" Misty asked from outside.

Ash didn't respond as the light allowed him to watch Pikachu's lightning bolt tail disappear into the crawl space. He could tell that Pikachu was still nervous, but Ash knew that he could do it. He had faith in all his Pokémon, especially Pikachu. If Pikachu could find a ghost and defeat it, he could certainly help Ash come out of the Pokémon League victorious.

"Pika pi! Chu, pika!" Pikachu cried out to his trainer, turning around to face Ash. He was complaining that the light wasn't enough. For the past few seconds, Pikachu had been wandering into darkness.

"Heh, sorry Pikachu," Ash apologized. "Guess I feel a lot better if I'm seeing you, but it's _you_ who needs the light right now."

Pikachu nodded once firmly and Ash brought the light up to go over Pikachu's body.

Pikachu turned his head back around, and instantly emitted a high-pitched wail. Illuminating from the darkness were two blinding slits shining back at him. The slits rapidly opened wider and brighter. Pikachu's fur stood on end, and immediately, he lurched himself around and bolted out of the closet.

"Pikachu?!" Ash called out confusingly and worriedly as Pikachu blasted out of the crawl space, cowering underneath Ash's body. The Pokémon gripped fearfully onto Ash's arm, shielding his face away.

"Pikachu, what happened?" Ash demanded nervously. "Did you see something in there?"

Pikachu nodded, refusing to open his eyes. He pressed his face tightly into the creases of Ash's pajamas. "_Piiiiiiiiiiii_…" he groaned loudly.

"What happened?!" Brock cried from outside.

"Did Pikachu see something in there?" Misty screeched. She gripped tightly onto Brock, and the two found themselves unintentionally backing up. They stopped when they knocked into Delia's bed from behind.

"Y-yeah, I think so," Ash stuttered in reply. He looked down at the terrified Pokémon, clamoring on to him in distress. "Pikachu, what did you see?"

"Chuuuuu…" Pikachu moaned, translated simply as "a ghost."

Ash shivered. So there _was_ something in there. He didn't ask Pikachu for any more information, and he certainly wasn't going to make him go back in there. He glanced into the crawl space fearfully as he rubbed his trembling Pokémon.

"Pikachu, go back to Misty and Brock," Ash ordered lightly, not taking his eyes out from the crawl space.

Pikachu looked up at him questioningly.

"Just go," he told him again. His eyes were narrowed in anger and determination. "I'm gonna get this ghost _out of here_."

For a moment, Pikachu didn't want Ash to go. But the look on his face was incontestable, and there was no stopping him. Pikachu obediently but reluctantly made his way out of the closet.

As soon as Brock and Misty saw Pikachu, Misty shuddered. "Ash, what are you doing in there?"

"It's my turn to go in," Ash replied, choking in fear. "Nobody scares my Pikachu and gets away with it."

"But Ash, what did he see?!" Misty begged for the answer.

"Is there really something in there?" Brock called out. His heart began to pound, and for a second he wanted to reach in and grab Ash out. Or go in himself. "Ash, what's going on?"

Ash didn't reply. Sucking in his gut, he crouched down and wedged his way into the crawl space entrance.

STAY TUNED FOR THE EXCITING CONCLUSION!


	8. Part 8

**Spooked**

_by Spruceton Spook_

**Part 8**

Cobwebs struck Ash's face lightly as he managed to wedge himself into the crawl space. He entered it sideways, the only way that allowed him to. The squeeze was unbearably tight, but he knew he had to do it. He shook his head violently and blew out at the silky nets to get them out of his face.

"Asssshhhh!"

Ash could still hear his friends calling out to him from outside the closet. He tried to reply, but each time he opened his mouth, the dust drifted to his windpipe and all that came out were loud, heaving coughs. He had also, unfortunately, inhaled some spider webs.

"Are you okay?" Misty questioned nervously. She approached the closet quickly and swished aside hordes of Delia's clothing, only to reveal Ash's two legs sticking out disproportionately from the small hole.

"I'm fine," he managed to reply, scowling as he pulled the wet webs from his mouth. "Probably just ate a couple spiders, but I'm fine." He uttered a small, uneven laugh.

"What are you _doing_?" Misty demanded incredulously. "Are you sure you can fit in there?"

"I can if I make myself," Ash determined, using his free arm to pull himself a few more difficult inches into the crawl space.

Misty cringed as she heard the walls groan from Ash trying to get himself in. _What is he getting himself into?_ she wondered frightfully to herself. Chills ran through her as she thought about what he was getting into. She wanted to pry him out of there, get him away from the danger. Ghost or not, there was something in there, and she didn't want him near it.

"Ash, if there's something in there, I don't want you to go!"

Although she couldn't see him, Ash looked oddly at her. "Misty, I'll be okay. Whatever's in here I'm not afraid of."

_Then how come you won't shine the light in there?_ he challenged himself. He was just relieved that his voice wasn't shaking when he had answered her. Even he himself didn't want to admit it, but he was petrified. The only thing keeping him in that crawl space was the tight enclosure he had somehow jammed himself into. The flashlight was directed towards his chest, leaving the somewhat endless dark an oblivion. Whatever was in that darkness Ash wasn't sure he wanted to find out…if there was anything in there at all.

Silence succeeded his answer, until Misty's garbled voice floated softly down to him. "Oh, please Ash. Please be careful!" Her voice lowered. "I don't want you to get hurt."

Ash took a deep breath and gazed into the darkness. "I won't get hurt." _I hope not._ To fight the pessimism, he thought of his mom, and what she had told him countless times before_. Nothing will bother you, Ash. You're safe here._ Ash hoped to God that she was telling him the truth.

Ash propped himself up on his one hand, which was scraping painfully against the rough, wooden floor. Years of accumulating dust had made it that way, and Ash hoped that he wouldn't have to spend agonizing hours prying out splinters. He sighed, as he wished he had his gloves on. But it was no use going back now. He wondered if he actually _could _get out.

Still keeping the flashlight directed anywhere but forward, Ash's heart began to pump. Shaking, he slowly will himself to bring the flashlight around. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he suddenly felt the temperature rise. The humidity and damp scent of the crawl space disoriented him, but not half as much as what he was about to see next.

His heart seemed to pound right out of his chest as Ash came face to face with the bright, shining circles. They shone out considerably from the deep black, flashing flickers of light into his eyes. Ash gulped loudly, and his mouth quivered. The flashlight bounced up and down from his restive shaking, making the lights seem to dance around. But Ash knew they were moving no matter what he did with the light.

Despite the sudden heart-attack he was experiencing, Ash managed to bravely move the light over a bit. The matter of the situation had not fully caught up with him yet, and it took him quite a few seconds to realize the presence that was before him. His beating heart went down a notch when a familiar purple mass became visible. Ash was shining his light on a small Rattata.

"A…a _Rattata?_" Ash squeaked in disbelief.

"What?!" Brock and Misty cried at the same time. They had heard Ash's sudden utterance, but could not make it out one way or another. The two looked at each other fearfully, not happy with the way their friend sounded. As surprised as his exclamation was, he sounded terrified. Trembling, Misty stumbled forward to the closet, ardent to go to Ash. God, she wanted him out of there. She wanted him to be safe.

Ash heard his friends calling out to him, but he didn't even bother to answer. He was frozen in surprise as he kept the light on the Rattata. A small grin curved to his lips, partly out of humor. Was this _it_? Was this what they had been hearing the whole time?

"Ash, what's going on?" Brock asked. "Are you okay in there?"

"I'm fine!" Ash called back, settling his friends' raging hearts. "It…it's okay. I think I got this under control."

"Under control?" Misty asked inaudibly and confusingly, turning her attention to Brock. He just shrugged, but his reassuring face calmed her. She didn't feel that bad now, as Ash's confirmation of the situation seeped into her. Still, she was curious. Just what was going on in there?

Ash watched as the tiny Pokémon squinted its eyes away from the bright flashlight's glare. It shrank back against the wall of the crawl space, baring its sharp, large teeth at him in a snarl. It uttered a faint, frightened hiss as it glared at its intruder. The Rattata was awfully small, and in an instant Ash knew he was in the presence of a very young Pokémon. And an extremely scared Pokémon.

A much larger, gentler smile spread across Ash's face as he inched his way closer to the rat. He was smooth and silent in his transition, holding out a hand welcomingly to the creature. "Hey, buddy," he said soothingly, keeping his voice low in hopes of not scaring it any further. "Good Rattata."

Ash was barely a foot away from the Rattata, who had found a dead-end at the end of the crawl space. The atmosphere had grown much more humid as Ash knew they were the furthest into the tiny attic, and dust motes attacked his eyes. The Pokémon recoiled as most as it could as Ash crept closer and closer to it.

"Come on, Rattata," Ash urged. He was crawling uncomfortably on his one knee, the other pushed sideways into the wall. He knew the faster he got this thing out of here, the more overjoyed he would be. He smiled warmly, reaching out at the Rattata.

"Rat!" it spat out, hissing again.

Ash yanked his hand back quickly and frowned. This was not going to be easy. And yet, he took a deep breath and held his hand out again.

"Come on, little guy. Don't be afraid. I just want to get you out of here."

The Rattata glared at him, and its hair stood up rigidly on its back. It dug its claws into the soft wood as it glared cautiously at Ash. Butterflies fluttered excitedly in Ash's stomach.

"Are you the one causing all this trouble around here?" he asked it softly, turning around to sit. His back wedged against the wall, and he found his knees suddenly touching his nose. He coughed a couple times, hard. Tears were forming in his eyes from the dust, and he was glad to wipe them away with his new free hand. "Tapping on my wall, huh? You thought that was funny?"

"Raaaa…" it uttered, voicing its warning resolutely. Its tail flicked, full of admonition.

Ash smiled nervously. He squirmed in hopes of relieving himself of his uncomfortable position. "You don't belong in here, Rattata. You belong outside. In the sunlight and the fields." _Or in my Pokéball_, he thought with a small, determined chuckle. "Doesn't that sound nice? This dirty crawl space isn't for you. Whaddah ya say?"

At that moment, he reached out to grab the Rattata—or at least shoo it away from the wall, but instead the Pokémon snapped ferociously at Ash, biting down as hard as it could on Ash's index and middle finger.

"_YEEEEOWWWW!"_ Ash screeched loudly, jerking his stinging fingers out of the Pokémon's mouth and clenching them tightly in his other hand. "Oh, _crap…_"

His reaction dulled to loud moans, wincing horribly as the most horrific pain shot through his hand and up his arm. His head suddenly pulsated. He had never felt anything like that before in his life. It was if his hand had been pinched between two massive anvils. Tears freely fell down his cheek and he coughed out a sob.

Misty uttered a sharp yelp when she heard Ash scream. She and Brock pushed their way into the closet at the same time.

"Ash!" Misty cried out, her eyes wide in terror. "Ash, what happened?! _What happened?_"

"Are you okay in there?" Brock asked, his voice sounding just as scared. "Did you get hurt?"

Misty was breathing heavily, nearly hyperventilating. The only response they heard from Ash was his loud groaning. In that moment, an intolerable image came to her mind—Ash hurt and trapped in the crawl space. The thought of the ghost rapidly vanished from her mind as she thought of Ash in pain and full of panic. What if he hurt himself more in his anxiety and fear? What if he really _could_ get stuck in there? These horrifying notions plagued her, and she couldn't stop the tears that roamed from her eyes. Brock saw this and shuddered. He rubbed Misty's shoulders quickly yet tenderly.

"It's okay, Misty, it's okay," he said to her. His head darted from her to the closet. "I—ugh, oh geez! Ash_, damn you, answer us!_ Are you hurt in there?!"

Ash wanted badly to cry out to them, but the pain had rendered him speechless, unable to manage anything but the soft whines that escaped his throat. The twinge was so unendurable that he proceeded to pound forcefully on the wall with his other hand.

The Rattata hissed again in closing to the nasty attack. Ash opened one eye and glared at the Pokémon, anger flickering. Cringing, he hesitantly brought his aching hand underneath the flashlight. His eyes widened as he saw they were shining a bright red. Small streams of blood ran down his fingers as he turned his hand around in horrified awe. The sight made him queasy.

"Ash!"

Ash snarled at the Pokémon through clenched teeth. The pain was hardly subsiding from his fingers. His eyes were dead-set directed into the Rattata's, and in that next moment, without thinking, he pounced. He didn't care if he tackled it, injured it, scared the hell out of it. The pain was controlling his mind now. It had made him bleed. That was it, that was the clincher.

"Asssshhh!"

"_You little—_" he growled coldly as he flung himself at the Rattata. The Pokémon was too quick, however, and it slipped out of Ash's hands like a greasy bar of soap. Ash felt the Pokémon scamper over his knees and bolt toward the entrance.

Ash's awkward position didn't affect him one bit. He tried to hop up, but a hard wooden beam halted him harshly. He shrieked as pain attacked his back. He was literally crying now, the tears falling uncontrollably from his eyes. "M-misty! Brock! Stop it, stop it!"

Brock and Misty jumped back a few inches when they heard Ash shout. They hopped around confusingly on their toes.

"Stop what?!" Brock cried, his eyes shooting in all directions.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu shouted, answering the question quite swiftly. He jumped out of the way as the purple rat shot past him in a flash, skidding on the shiny, polished hard wood floor. It turned on a dime and rushed out of Delia's room.

Misty and Brock followed the purple blur out of the room with their eyes, frozen with stupefaction.

"Wha-what was that?" asked Misty, panicky.

"It was a Pokémon!" Brock replied quickly.

"It's a Rattata!" Ash screamed from deep within the crawl space. "H-hurry, guys! Get it! Get it, f-find it!"

Misty didn't care one bit. "Ash, we're getting you outta there first! Are you okay?"

A huge wave of relief spread through her body as she saw Ash's two legs pop out from the crawl space. She watched as he twisted and turned his body this way and that, squirming out from the dusty prison. He clutched his bad hand tightly to his chest, and he dragged the flash light behind him.

"No!" he answered sharply, followed by another whimper. Brock fell to his knees to assist Ash out.

As he was getting out, Misty was scanning the environment for the Rattata. Whether it was loose or not, Ash was her first concern. She looked back down nervously as Brock helped Ash out of the crawl space. Ash found his feet as soon as he was out, but he stumbled forward, pain radiating from his swollen back. Misty's eyes shot open as they fixed firmly on his bleeding fingers and Ash's tear-strewn face.

"Ash! You _are_ hurt!" she screamed. She looked in horror at his fingers, and at the large red streaks they had left on his tan pajamas. "Oh my God, you—you're bleeding!"

"It's okay! It's okay! I'll live!" Ash said quickly and a little angrily. He wiped the lingering tears from his eyes and cheeks and held his wounded fingers closer to his chest. "Where is it? Where did it go?!"

Misty and Brock became freaked out again.

"I don't know!" she shouted.

"Aw man, it could be anywhere!" Ash groaned worriedly. "We have to get it!"

Ash shot out of the room in a flash, leaving his confused friends in his wake. It took them a few seconds to come to their senses and follow. Ash ran into his room and looked around, his mouth agape. His face was scrunched up in pain from his aching back. He couldn't image what he may have done to it, but it hurt like hell. Still, it didn't stop him much as he immediately began his search.

"Wait a second! Was this it the whole time?" Misty asked as she and Brock entered the room. "This is the ghost?"

"I believe it is," Ash answered without looking up. He had fallen to the floor, holding himself upright on his good hand, to look under his bed.

"Well isn't that _just_ great!" Misty exclaimed angrily.

"How did it get into the house?" Brock asked.

Ash hopped up from his bed and tore apart the crumpled sleeping bags on the ground. "The crawl space is connected to the attic," he explained, his heart racing as he continued his search. He was barely thinking as he spoke. "It must've gotten in from there somehow. A hole or something." He looked up at Misty and Brock, who were just standing there. "Will you guys _help _me?!"

Misty and Brock jumped at this, and immediately sprang into action.

"I can't believe this!" Misty growled as she looked under Ash's desk. The whole situation was becoming too exasperating for her. "This is what was scaring us the whole time?!"

"Yeah, but how did it get into the house from the attic?" Brock asked.

In frustration, Ash kicked his dresser, knocking down some of the small knickknacks on it. "That's the part I can't figure out!"

At that moment, Misty decided to chime in. "Uh, Ash? I might know."

This caught Ash and Brock's undivided attention, and they both found Misty standing in front of Ash's open closet.

"Look," she said, pointing in.

Ash and Brock peered in, only to discover the similar looking door to the crawl space slightly ajar. Though a bunch of Ash's stuff was pushed up against it and surrounding it, there was enough room for a bantam creature to fit through.

"It must've been coming out through there," Ash commented.

Brock shook his head as he gazed into the disaster. "Gee, Ash, guess you didn't clean this along with your room, huh?"

"Oh, shut up!" Ash belted out. "Don't start with me with that!"

Brock met his glare and shrugged. "You don't have to get nasty, Ash! Maybe if you had your crap cleaned up, this door could've been closed sometime and that thing wouldn't have been all over the place!"

"Scaring the hell out of us!" Misty added.

Ash held his head in his hand and he gripped at his hair agitatedly. His blood-clotted hand hung limply at his side. He didn't need any more verbal punishment right now. All he could think of was the purple rat that was somewhere in his house. The same blasted rodent that had scared him and his friends straight and had gotten him into trouble for nothing. His mom was right, after all. There was nothing, there was _never_ going to be anything. Ash shook his head shamefully. Although he was worried, at this point he was fed up. Who cared anymore? He didn't.

"Pika pika!" Suddenly, he heard his Pokémon shout out desperately to him. Ash's head rose as did Misty and Brock's in an instant, and they turned in the direction of Pikachu's outcry.

They found Pikachu just outside Ash's room, maneuvering himself around to keep the tiny Rattata trapped in the corner. Sparks flew from Pikachu's cheeks as he warned the Pokémon to keep still. The Rattata continued to hiss at Pikachu as it had at Ash, and the short hair on its back bristled angrily. It was not afraid to defend itself.

"Good job, Pikachu!" Ash congratulated his friend. "Now give it a shock! We have to get it!"

On command, Pikachu let off a small jolt, which would have been enough to certainly daze the rat, but instead the Rattata jumped out of the way. The minute bolt struck the wall with a crack as Pikachu gazed at it confusingly. The Rattata scampered away swiftly, flying straight into Delia's room.

"Hurry! There it goes!" Brock cried, and the three bolted off immediately after it.

While Misty and Brock took off effortlessly, Ash stopped short and groaned loudly. Clutching at his aching back, he took a deep breath and tried to follow after them as best as he could. Pain shot up and down his spinal cord, and the only thing keeping him from collapsing was his strong grip on the door-frame. His eyes shut tightly, he could hear his friends and Pikachu chasing boisterously after the rodent.

"Ash!"

"It's coming your way!"

"Where are you?"

Ash didn't have much time to react to Misty and Brock's shouts, for as soon as he lifted his head, the Rattata was coming directly at him.

Without a second thought, Ash charged at the Rattata, the worst possible thing he could've done. The Pokémon halted and managed to steer itself out of Ash's clutches.

"Shiii_…ooot_!" Ash shouted with venom in his voice as the Rattata scrambled underneath his legs. His arms flung down unsuccessfully at his knees. He twisted around to follow it with his eyes, only to be hit forcibly from behind by Brock and Misty.

"Ash!" Brock screamed, trying desperately to catch himself from falling. "What the hell's the matter with you?! Why are you just standing here?!"

"My back…" Ash moaned. "I hurt my back in the crawl space and it hurts to move."

"What?!"

"I knew you'd get hurt in there!" Misty suddenly belted out at him, causing him to shrink back. "I told you not to go in!"

"And now look what happened!" Brock added. He groaned and pulled agitatedly at his hair as his eyes scanned around the area. "Where did that Rattata go _now_?!"

Ash just wailed in reply, causing Misty to go right to his back. Ash closed his eyes and leaned forward, propping himself up once again using the wall. He breathed in deeply and tried not to concentrate on the pain. Misty delicately lifted his pajama top. Ash quivered a little, feeling a chill as he felt Misty's hands brushing against his skin.

"Oh, man…" Misty mumbled.

Ash's eyebrows scrunched up. "Is it bad?"

Misty put his shirt back down carefully. "It's starting to get all purple and stuff. You bruised it really bad. How'd you _do_ that?!"

Moaning again, Ash didn't answer. His attention switched over to Brock, who, although standing there with them, was looking quite agitated and stressful.

"I don't know where it could be," Ash said pathetically. "But we have to get it out of here. Mom's gonna have a fit if that thing's loose in the house!"

Brock sighed worriedly. Though Ash hadn't seen it, Brock had noticed Ash's battered back. "The only thing your mom's gonna have a fit about is you. She's gonna freak over what you did to yourself."

Ash crooned as he stood up again. "Worry about me later. Let's get the monster out of here before it does any more damage."

Misty's eyes fell. Same old Ash. It didn't matter if he was missing a limb or not; it was no use going against his determination. "But where is it?" she asked, her voice low and saddened.

Brock shook his head. "We can't keep losing it like this."

The three stood dejectedly in the hallway, all silent. They didn't know where to begin. Ash wished he hadn't have gone in the crawl space at all, but it was already done and now a new problem was on their hands. He slumped and sighed.

"We'll never find it now," he said softly.

Just as he had said that, the kids' ears pricked to the small, gleeful "togi!" that came from Ash's room. They each exchanged a glance before looking into the room. Gasping, they found Togepi sitting on Ash's bed where Misty had left him moments before. Only now Togepi wasn't alone. Smiling widely, Togepi squealed again as the Rattata came close to sniff his face. The whiskers on the rat were tickling Togepi's face, which thrilled him immensely.

"There it is!" Brock cried in a whisper.

Misty's stomach flopped as she saw the filthy Pokémon near her beloved Togepi. "Oh no!" she squeaked. "What are we gonna do? I don't want that thing near my Togepi!"

She tried to go into the room, but Brock grabbed her shoulders. "No, Misty! Don't scare it again! Let's just think for a second."

Misty spun around and glared at him incredulously. "Think?! How can I think when that _thing's_ near Togepi?!"

"Shhh!" Brock shushed her sternly. "We can get this thing if we have a plan!"

They watched quietly as the Rattata was unintentionally entertaining Togepi. It was curious at the baby Pokémon's quirkiness.

"What's our plan, then?" Ash whispered, glancing determinedly at the two Pokémon on his bed. He was mentally shooting daggers at the Rattata, who had now settled in front of Togepi on his clean sheets. Ash made a note to himself to change the sheets, granted he found the time.

Brock was quiet for a moment, and the reason why came rather quickly. "I have no idea."

"Togi! Togi!" Togepi cried, waving his arms around in utter happiness.

The Rattata edged closer to him, causing Misty to cringe. Her whole body trembled. She wished she could stretch her arms out for her Togepi, grasping him away from harm. Who knew where that Rattata had been or what it had been doing? Misty shuddered more at the thought.

_Oh Togepi_, she whimpered silently. She wrung her hands nervously, her eyes darting from Togepi to the Rattata. Her heart began to pump ceaselessly, sending a rush of blood and adrenaline through her veins. It was no stopping her when her nerves took over, and in a split second, she charged into Ash's room and dove for Togepi.

"Misty!" Ash and Brock cried together as they watched the girl leap onto the ladder, her arms flailing toward both the Pokémon.

"Get away from Togepi!" Misty bawled at the purple rat, who immediately sprung out of her way. It made a loud thud as it fell to the ground, scattering all over the place in a series of zany, terrified circles.

"Now you've done it!" cried Brock, who went after the Pokémon without a second passed. Misty stood in a withdrawn manner on the ladder, clutching her now crying Togepi in her arms.

Ash hopped from his fetal position at the doorway towards the corner of the room the Rattata had dashed. He watched horribly as Brock rushed after it with a look of murderous glint in his eyes. The Rattata was no match for him; it quickly moved itself around him, finding an escape route over Ash's desk. It slid hopelessly on the sheets of random papers Ash had on his desk, causing its footing to sway beneath it and slide directly into Ash's lava lamp. Ash watched in what seemed like slow motion as the expensive lamp began its fatal descent to the floor.

Ash didn't even have time to scream before he witnessed Brock dive for the lava lamp, catching it mere seconds before it shattered on the floor. Relief spread through Ash as he watched his surprised, grinning friend gently place it back on the desk. The wonderful moment didn't last any longer as he hopped out of the way of the careening purple rocket that sped across his floor. The rocket that Pikachu was hot on the trail of.

His back no longer a concern, Ash took off after Pikachu as he followed the Rattata out of the room and into the hallway.

"Wear it down, Pikachu!" Ash shouted pleadingly. "Corner it! Do anything!"

Ash could hear the loud thumping of running footsteps behind him. Misty and Brock were on their way, as well. In between his bouncy scurry, he could see the two Pokémon race down the stairs.

"They're heading for the living room!" Misty shouted.

"I don't care where it's heading!" Ash shot back. "We have to get it!"

The next four minutes turned out to be the most hectic in young Ash Ketchum's life. His back a searing mass of pain, he, along with Misty, Brock, and Pikachu, chased the Rattata endlessly throughout the house. It proved to be just too fast, and the times when Ash thought he may have gotten it were just a disappointing fluke. Countless times it had escaped the clutches of any of them, barely by inches. And it didn't take kindly to the easy routes, either. Ash watched in panic as the Rattata made desperate attempts to get out of its besiegers' ways through means of going over the tables and furniture. They were all over the place, diving for tilting lamps, candles, and picture frames.

Bending over from miraculously catching the living room lamp that was one of his parents' wedding presents, Ash gasped as he watched the Rattata clamp onto the curtains and scurry up them. His heart leaping out of his chest, Ash cried out loudly.

"Misty! Brock! Get it on the curtains! It's gonna destroy them! Hurry!"

Brock and Misty dashed towards the window, however uncertain how they would get it off there. Misty was mostly reluctant to reach out for the Rattata, especially after the bloody job it did to Ash's fingers. Brock's determination and anger made him practically fearless, though, and in no time, he was hopping up and down with clenched fists in hope of knocking it off.

Pikachu was the successful one of them all. Without a single command from Ash (who wished he had asked for one), he cried out and released a powerful thunderbolt, which struck the Pokémon dead-on. Shocked, both literally and mentally, the Rattata dug its claws into the bright yellow curtains to keep from falling, but it was of no use. As he fell, Ash's ears stung as he heard the curtains rip under the pressure of the rat's razor sharp claws. This was aside from the crispy residue Pikachu's little attack had left on them.

"Ugghhh! That thing's gonna get me _killed!_" he raged, trying fiercely to block the dreaded image of his mother's reaction from his mind. At that moment, in an act of pure unrestricted rage, he leaped at the Pokémon, who had just collapsed to the floor from the shock. Ash saw its eyes look up at him and glisten with fear before it took off just in time for Ash to land with a tremendous thud, flat on his face.

Misty and Brock winced from the fall, but it didn't seem to bother Ash in the least. All the pain had started to even itself out. He had to get this thing. It didn't matter anymore what the creature had done beforehand. The tapping, the knocking down of the picture (which Ash and friends figured out later to have been the result of the Rattata chewing on the wood from behind), the playful hopping up and down on the typewriter keys, or the scampering around in the middle of the night were obsolete. All that mattered now was the war. The war between Ashton Ketchum and Rattata. A war that Ash had to win.

From his fallen position on the floor, Ash watched the Rattata make its final move, burrowing itself underneath the couch. His teeth clenched, Ash thrust his hand under the ruffle of the couch, grasping his fist immediately upon doing so. He muffled a small cry in surprise as he felt the soft clamp of fur between his fingers.

An evil, yet zealous smile took over Ash's face. "Haha! I got ya now!"

"You do?" Misty asked with a hint of joy brewing in her voice.

Ash could feel the Rattata trying to escape from his clutches. The combination of his strong hold on it and the slippery floor were advantages for Ash.

He muttered a laugh. "Heh! I got it!" What he was going to do with it, though, he had no idea. For now, he was just overjoyed that he was winning. All he needed was one more yank, and the accursed Pokémon would be in his hands.

"Pull it out, Ash!" Brock said, coming up to him suddenly with a pillow case in his hands. He had passed a filled laundry basket during one of the runabouts, and had grabbed it without even thinking. "Just drop it in here!"

"Okay!" Ash replied, pulling his arm back to pry the Rattata from under the couch. His eyes fell as he realized it was a lot tougher now. "It won't come!" he shouted, clenching its tail with all his might. "It must be holding onto something."

Brock just stood by him, hunched over slightly as he held the open pillow case in front of him. Misty hesitantly made her way over to Ash and crouched down. Taking a deep breath, she lifted the dust ruffle of the couch to reveal that the Rattata was in fact holding on to something. Its large teeth were clamped on to the opposite dust ruffle.

"Pikachu!" Misty called out. "Get it off the other dust ruffle!"

"Pika!" he replied, darting over to the other side of the couch.

The new encounter didn't suit the Rattata. Ash could feel the Pokémon tense when it saw Pikachu, and what came next was something utterly unexpected. Overcome with fear, the Rattata did the next best thing to running—it attacked. In the matter of a second, the Rattata flung itself around and unleashed a nasty, unforeseen tackle attack, aimed straight for Ash.

As if a ton of bricks had struck him with the force of a jet, Ash flew back. He screamed in shock as the wind was completely knocked out of him. He crashed into Misty and Brock, sending them both down with a large clunk. They, in turn, hit the coffee table, causing it soar in the same direction and stopping dangerously close to smashing into the television screen.

"Pika!" Pikachu shouted, hopping onto the couch, with his jaw dropped to the ground. He glanced over to see the three kids sprawled out on the floor, Ash on the top. But in the scheme of things, he'd never let go of the Rattata. Holding it now as if it were a freshly caught football, Ash held the struggling Pokémon close to his chest.

Ash screeched as he felt either Misty or Brock's (he wasn't sure) knee jam right into his bruised back. At the same time, he tightened his arms around the Rattata more severely, practically choking it to death. It was both out of the pain and the good, invigorating feeling that spread through him as he realized he had finally captured it.

Slowly but surely, a smile spread across Ash's face. It was one of pure malice and determination, but a glint of delight was still there. Feeling the weight of his uncomfortably shocked friends underneath him, Ash stared straight into the eyes of the Rattata.

"I win," he growled into its face through gritted teeth. The Rattata simply quivered.

Ash began to laugh, but stopped short as a new sound entered the picture. The front door opening took him by complete surprise.

"Hey, kids? You still here? I forgot my—"

The smile on Ash's face quickly vanished as Delia came into the house. He tensed fearfully as he witnessed her freeze dead in her tracks. Her mouth immediately dropped open in stupefaction and her eyebrows rose incredulously.

"Oh my…!" she exclaimed inaudibly. She glared at the three kids, dispersed awkwardly on the floor. "Wh-what _happened_ here?!"

A tiny, sheepish grin curved on Ash's lips. Shaking, he lifted the captured Rattata up by its tail.

"Hi, Mama," he uttered nervously, sweatdropping. "Uh, got the ghost?"

**THE END**

Yay, there it is! My fourth complete story! Whoah-oh! I hope you liked it! Yes, I know what you're thinking. And the answer is yes, I did get this idea kinda from the first manga story. It's my own little take on it. Hey, I need some sort of inspiration. And yes, I do know obviously that Ash didn't have a Rattata when he left home for the Pokémon League, but this is where my story ends. I really don't know whatever happened to the rodent. I didn't think that far. You can use your imaginations for that one!

This last chapter is for SaltNPepper. We are so like them, guys! You know it, Kaaadds! I'm glad I could save my lava lamp in time! Wouldn't _that_ have been a nasty mess? LOL


	9. Oops!

Sorry for this

Sorry for this! My computer totally screwed up, and uploaded this part 4 times for some strange reason!Believe me, I am ticked off!Spooked is suppose to be 8 parts, not 11!Nooooo!Well, at least ff.net is back up again, and I can upload all the work I've been doing lately! Hoped you enjoyed this story!Please don't remind me that this is not a part! _Sniff!_Sorry once again!

**~Spruceton Spook**


End file.
